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What now then?
Children’s work @ Sunnyside
Water Board
ALPHA up
and running
This remains our vision and our calling for 2015.
LOVE: GROW: SERVE
VISION SUNDAY 18th JAN 2015
There were four Services on Sunday 18th January and
a vision was shared about our core statement to
‘Love: Grow: Serve’ by using the set Gospel passage
for the day.
We genuinely didn’t plan it this way but it turned out
that 18th January 1998 was the first Sunday that David
and Isabel joined us here at Sunnyside so we ended
up reflecting on the past seventeen years and using
Jesus’ encounter with Nathaniel to put some flesh on
the bones of our vison for the next few years.
2015 to 2020 will be a challenging and exciting time
to be called to worship and service here at Sunnyside.
Do make sure you have the notes and questions
relating to The Vison Day. These are special notes and
questions which we hope the whole of our church
family will engage with and will be committed
enthusiastically to the way forward from here on in.
We’d also like to encourage everyone within our
worshipping fellowship to try and start to think
‘Love: Grow: Serve’.
The core questions in the House Group notes for the
day are simple enough yet strike at the heart of what
it means to be part of the people of God in this place.
LOVE: Do I love God with all my heart, soul, mind and
strength AND my neighbour as myself?
GROW: Am I growing in my faith and relationship
with God alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ?
SERVE: Is my life characterised by my service to
others?
No one scores 100% here – apart from Jesus himself but we are meant, in the strength of God’s Spirit, to
live lives worthy of our calling both individually and
corporately.
Let’s embrace, pray actively and start to think
LOVE: GROW: SERVE.
Affinity Water were
digging up Ivy House
Lane in November. We
were able to send out a
MailChimp to the
hundred or so people
who have signed up for
MailChimp and warn
them a few days before
that the bridge would
be closed on the
Sunday. If you were
‘caught out’ by the road
closures then get
yourself signed up to
MailChimp.
It’s so easy to do.
Just go to the church
website and follow the
simple 30 second
instructions.
sunnysidechurch.org.uk
Lent is the Christian season of
preparation before Easter.
In Western Christianity, Ash
Wednesday marks the first day or
the start of the season of Lent, which
begins forty days prior to Easter
(Sundays are not included in the count).
Lent is a time when many Christians
prepare for Easter by observing a
period of fasting, and repentance,
moderation and spiritual discipline.
The purpose is to set aside time for
reflection on Jesus himself - his
suffering and his sacrifice, his life,
death, burial and resurrection.
‘In God's Hands’ is the 2015
Archbishop of Canterbury's Lent
Book. In this little gem of a book,
Archbishop Desmond Tutu distils the
wisdom forged through a childhood
of poverty and apartheid, an
adulthood lived in the glare of the
world's media, and the long and
agonising struggle for truth and
reconciliation in South Africa, into
the childlike simplicity which Jesus
tells us characterises the Kingdom of
God. What a great read this will be.
Sunday 29th March
Sunday Special.
It’s a 5th Sunday.
On the four occasions of
the year when the
calendar gives us a 5th
Sunday we try to do
something special.
In March we’ll be having
another United Service
together followed by a
light lunch – just as we
did for Harvest back in
October. Please put the
date in your dairy now
SUNDAY 29th March
Have you popped into the hall recently after the
Ten Thirty service to see what is happening in
‘sunday’s cool’? What you see might really surprise
and encourage you. Children everywhere, parents
chatting and people helping to clear up in between!
We now have up to twenty children coming regularly
on a Sunday morning. The children range in age from
2½ up to 9 years old, so activities need to be varied
and active. We are using a new resource called Urban
Saints which allows us to plan around a theme whilst
having a range of linked activities relevant to the
different age groups. There are always some play
activities for our very youngest children too!
New leaders and helpers are emerging and we are
thankful for them (as well as for those who have been
involved with our children’s work for many years). We
have also loved having Kate Jenkinson with us each
week for 4 months as part of her Duke of Edinburgh
award. She was a great asset to the team and we will
miss her commitment and help. Thank you Kate.
With our numbers growing we could always do with
some more help, so if you would like to come and be
a part of our children’s ministry here at Sunnyside do
have a chat with me. Come for a ‘visit’ for one week
just to see what goes on…….
Please keep praying for ‘sunday’s cool’ at this time.
We are in a time of change and growth and are
constantly evaluating all that we do as things evolve.
Pray for ‘sunday’s cool’ to be a place where all
children (those who come regularly and those who
may be visiting) feel happy and safe, where they have
fun and make friends and through all that goes on
they may learn something of our God who loves and
values each one of them for who they are.
Look forward to seeing you after a Ten Thirty in
‘sunday’s cool’ one week soon!
A ‘REAL’ SUNDIAL
Why not make this part of your
preparation for Easter this year?
For Lent 2015 [which starts on
18th February] why not take up
something rather than just giving
up something?
Read a good Christian book?
We said a heartfelt ‘thank you’
to Phil Dormer in December
for over a decade of service on
the Sundial. We had reserved
a sundial (what else) at a local
garden centre but gave Phil
the option of using our gift to
buy something else. But we’re
delighted that he chose to
take the sundial. Here it is (on
a dull day) in pride of place in
Jacqui and Phil’s garden.
Thanks again Phil.
We launched Alpha
again at Sunnyside in
the middle of Prayer
Week on Wednesday
14th January. The first
evening was such a
roaring success that
we’re continuing for the
next ten weeks.
Thanks to all the people
who are making this
possible by organising,
cooking, clearing up and
being on the Course
itself.
It’s still not too late to
join in!
When the song of the angels
is stilled,
when the star in the sky
is gone,
when the kings and princes
are home,
when the shepherds
are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.
‘The work of Christmas’
by Howard Thurman
PRAYER WEEK
Congrats!
Tom and Katie are
engaged. Wedding
details to follow ‘soon’.
Yes, he really did get
down on one knee to
ask! We are really
thrilled for them both.
The wedding will take
place in Devon at a date
to be announced. Katie
works for The
Archbishop of
Canterbury but he has
yet to confirm his
availability to take the
ceremony. Don’t hold
your breath though!
Well over eighty different people
came along to Prayer Week,
11th – 17th Jan. This was very
encouraging. The variety in the
meetings meant that some were
very quiet and meditative whist in
others prayers seemed to follow in
rapid succession. Our thanks to the
eighteen different leaders.
We continue to give opportunities
for people to pray together, not just
in House Groups but also here in
church. 9.00am on Monday, the
Wednesday 9.30am service or Prayer
Breakfast at 8am on Saturday
mornings. Have you tried any of
these recently?
An Oasis
David’s brief comment on…
INVITATIONS
I was delighted to hear that Benedict Cumberbatch
has been nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of
Alan Turing, OBE. ‘The Imitation Game’ is a
remarkable and very moving account of this man’s
life. I found myself urging others to ‘go and see’ it.
We reflected on Vision Sunday on Philip’s invitation to
Nathaniel to ‘Come and see’. Surely we should be as
enthusiastic about inviting someone to ‘Come and
see’ in relation to our church family life even more
than an encouragement for others to go and see a
film – however brilliant it is, which it is?
But we don’t do it, do we?
The famous old Methodist preacher William Sangster
used to ask his congregation at Westminster Central
Hall two questions every year:
 When was the last time you shared with someone
the importance of your faith in Christ?
 When was the last time you even tried?
Ouch! There are of course social conventions that
constrain our sharing of things like ‘personal faith’.
Even the phrase seems to imply that what we chose
to believe is up to us but don’t force your views on
me, my views are as valid as yours – which of course,
they are.
A wiser wit than I once said that most people go to
church in the same way they go to the loo – as quietly
and with as little fuss as possible.
I wonder how far the good news of Christ would have
spread if those early disciples had felt as constrained
as we do? It isn’t a case of inappropriately inflicting
your views on someone else. As the famous quote
says, it is simply ‘One beggar telling another beggar
where to find food’. Why not try? ‘Come and see’ is
not the most difficult sentence to utter, is it?
That’s how many
people describe the
Wednesday Morning
9.30am service.
Three quarters of an
hour in the middle of
the week to sing, pray,
listen and engage with
the church family,
and share a coffee too.
Since its early days as a
monthly service using
the Book of Common
Prayer it has grown and
matured into a vibrant
and stimulating short
service – whilst still
retaining the 1662
service on the first
Wednesday of the
month.
We have just started a
new series working
through what is very
likely to have been the
first letter/epistle
written in our bibles:
The Epistle of James.
There’s a flyer available
about this series and an
empty chair you can fill.
Wk 1 BCP Communion
Wk 2 Morning Prayer
Wk 3 Holy Communion
Wk 4 Morning Prayer
On the four occasions
during the year when
there’s a fifth Wednesday
in the month we all go
down to St John’s Bourne
End to worship there.
Maureen Lamb’s Thanksgiving
Service here at Sunnyside on
Monday 19th January was simply an
amazing event. Many, many thanks
to all those who helped it happen.
We are so grateful to God for
allowing our lives to be lived
alongside somebody as remarkable
as Maureen Lamb.
Do continue to pray for Larry, Janie
and Ian. A collection was taken on
the day to be divided between CMS
and Sunnyside. Thank you to all
those who gave. Sunnyside and CMS
received £436 each from the
collection on the day.
Also thanks to those who gave to our
Advent Appeal for The Swan (£250),
The Women’s Refuge Hemel (£250)
and (£1500) to the DEC fighting the
Ebola crisis.
5 Star Kitchen Service!
For the past couple of years Jenny
Hyatt has been the key person with
overall supervision of the kitchen.
Having been given a five star rating
earlier it was a mammoth task to put
in place a new regime and keep the
kitchen more than up-to-scratch.
She is now handing over to Nicci
Boddam-Whetham and we are
delighted that Nicci has taken on this
task and so very grateful to Jenny for
the hours of hard work she’s put in
to keep a five-star service going.
Our ‘people resources’ are stretched
in the kitchen. If you think you may
be interested in finding out more,
talk to Nicci and offer to lend a hand.
Monthly Information Update
The Series
Continues
We did suggest in the January edition that you might
want to wait until we’ve produced a few regular
issues before overwhelming us with negativity but
it’s at least good to know that many people are as
passionate about our communication as we are.
Stick with it: let’s do all we can to get it right.
What’s in a name?
You may have read in the media about the new
Health Centre in Selby in Yorkshire. They ran a
competition in the community to come up with a
good name for the new centre. The winner was ‘Selby
Health Centre’! How’s that for originality?
Similarly, we’d like to decide on a name for this
publication too. To be honest, Monthly Information
Update hardly trips off the tongue does it? If you’ve
any creative suggestions, do let us know. All serious
entrants will be considered. There might be a super
prize for the winner!
There again, there might not.
LUNCH CLUB
Do you know what happens at
Lunch Club? Sadly many Sunnyside
people don’t and, when they find
out, are quite surprised.
 A whole team of people come
into the kitchen and Breukelman
room on Monday morning to clean,
Make sure you have a
set up and cook.
copy of the flyer that
 Meanwhile another team set off
gives you information
from home to pick up over twenty
on which Psalms are
elderly people in their cars.
being considered in this  They all join together with those
new Series. Making time who’ve made their own way here.
to read the Psalm
 Someone will arrive and lead a
before coming along to simple time of worship with a
worship can make a
scripture reading or a personal
radical difference to the reflection and then a hymn will be
effectiveness of this
sung.
teaching series.
 A hearty and nutritious meal with
Full details of all our
a super pud follows amid much
worship services from
conversation.
Epiphany to Easter in
The Lunch Club are always looking
this flyer.
for more volunteers to help with
cooking or transport. Can you spare
a bit of time on a Monday – if only
once a month to help continue the
growth and success of Sunnyside
Lunch Club? Speak to John and
Barbara Driver if you want to know
more.
We’ve just begun our
series on the Psalms
The first issue of this publication in January 2015
certainly generated some feedback – inevitably
divided. It was however quite humbling to hear
just how much ‘The Sundial’ was appreciated by
so many people. Thanks again to all those who
had toiled away on the Sundial over the years.
February 2015