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Issue #3 of Wheatley Area Newsletter
Horton cum Studley Oakley
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Beckley CHRISTIANS | | IN
| |
Stanton St John +----+ +----+
| | Worminghall
Forest Hill +----+ +----+
| | Ickford
Holton THE | | COMMUNITY
Wheatley | |
Horspath | | Tiddington
+---+
Cuddesdon Great Milton
Garsington Great Haseley
Little Milton
A monthly newsletter for Christians in the Wheatley Area.
To join or to send news: email Kevin1.Betts@ntlworld.com
Please forward to those who may be interested, or print off
for them if they have no email.
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HEADLINES: Bishop Colin visits Wheatley, One World Evening,
Future events, Jar of Grace appeal, Fusion & Nov 8th Festival
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"You are the light of the world — like a city on a mountain,
glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light
under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine
for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for
all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly
Father.” Matthew, 5:14-16
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| ><> EPISTLE <>< |
| to the Wheatley Area |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
You may notice a new heading for the newsletter this month, a
visual map of the area it is aimed at. The newsletter is also
attached as a text file if your email software does not
reproduce your editor's formatting!
As small villages sandwiched between larger towns such as
Oxford, Thame and Aylesbury, they are likely to have similar
issues. We are more mobile as people than ever before, with
many able to move freely between the villages and towns,
picking and choosing where to work, shop and worship. Yet we
are called to love our neighbour, who your editor now
realises live right next door, not a car ride away! Also
as smaller communities, we do not have the resources that
larger ones may have, yet by joining together we can find the
strength to tackle projects that may not have seemed possible
before.
For example, your editor was speaking to the vicar of Lewknor
recently, who was looking for PC networking specialists to
help him establish a broadband facility for the village as a
way to reconnect the church with residents in an area full of
commuters or the self employed. With a big turnover in his
congregation, as families move in and out of the village in
such short timescales, the church almost has to reinvent
itself every couple of years. If you can help with the
broadband project, please email Revd Simon Brignall on
brignall@nildram.co.uk
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| ><> GOOD NEWS <>< |
| Building the Kingdom Locally |
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><> ARE YOU A CLAY POT? by Jennifer Newton
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
On Sunday 19 October at 3pm St Mary’s church Wheatley was
packed: clergy and church members from the 12 Anglican
parishes, local dignitaries and visitors, children and the
not so young, all gathered to welcome Revd James Watson at
his Institution as the new Team Rector and Vicar of St
Mary’s. His wife Rebecca and 2-year old Hugh were also there,
with other members of the family.
During the formal service there was a lighter interlude when
James was invited to ring the small bell seven times (as a
sign that he plans to remain in post for seven years).
Immediately a peal of bells rang from the bell tower
(carefully pre-planned by the bell ringers) and there was a
hearty round of applause for James.
But what about the clay pot? Bishop Colin, during his sermon,
highlighted several aspects from the readings: how Jesus had
called the disciples to be fishers of men, and how we the
church, as the body of Christ, need to develop an inclusive
ministry. Like Paul, we must learn not to rely on our own
achievements but be ordinary ‘clay pots’ to be used by God
for his glory.
There was an opportunity after the service to meet others and
chat over a cup of tea and enjoy the excellent selection of
sandwiches and cakes.
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><> ONE WORLD EVENING EVENT
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
Ellen & Bob Webster and Ann Stephenson organised an excellent
evening at the Merry Bells on Oct 18 for One World week. We
heard 4 talks on Global Warming, a teenage hostel project in
Romania, global poverty and homelessness in Oxford. Funds
were raised for the specific projects above and also for the
work of "Tree of Life Trust" in Uganda.
http://www.romanianfoyertrust.org.uk/
http://www.theporch.fsbusiness.co.uk/
http://www.ugandanetwork.org.uk/network/download/netnews0203.pdf
(bottom right of newsletter)
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| ><> EVENTS <>< |
| Signs and Wonders |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
Oct 31 (Friday)
><> 7.30pm - Stanton St John Church
All Age Team Service for All Saints
Nov 1 (Saturday)
><> 9.45am-3pm - Marlborough School, Woodstock
YOUR KINGDOM COME
A day for the saints and with the saints launching the
Bishops' Prayer Mission throughout the Diocese
Part of the Sharing Life initiative
Welcome and worship with Bishop Colin, Keynote Speaker from
Springboard, and 20 different prayer workshops to choose from
ranging from 'Praying in an inter-faith world', 'Praying with
St Ignatius', through to 'Praying with art' and 'Young people
and prayer' - Details from Jennifer Newton - 01865 876066
Nov 5 (Wednesday)
><> 8pm - Training for Wheatley Fun Day - URC, Wheatley
Nov 8 (Saturday)
><> 10am - Noon - St Mary's Bazaar - Merry Bells, Wheatley
><> 3pm - 8pm - Wheatley Fun Day - Marty Woods - 01865 876596
Nov 11 (Tuesday & every 2nd Tuesday each month)
><> Wheatley Primary School Prayer group - Kath McNee
Nov 15 (Saturday)
><> 10am - 2pm Tearcraft sale - Beckley Church
- Ian & Erica Cave - 01865 351226
Nov 16 (Sunday)
><> 6pm - Wheatley Area Churches Service - URC, Wheatley
Nov 20 (Thursday)
><> 7:30 - 9pm - Work & history of Gideon's - URC, Wheatley
Nov 22 (Saturday)
><> 2pm - Ickford Church Christmas Fete, Ickford Village Hall
Nov 29 (Saturday)
><> 10am - 2pm - Felt Making Workshop, URC, Wheatley
£10 (inc lunch) in aid of Tree of Life Uganda Project
Please book with Pauline Shelley - 01865 873908
Dec 13 (Saturday)
><> 2pm - 4pm - Childrens' Christmas Party
- Karl & Sarah Turner - 01865 876118
Dec 20 (Saturday)
><> 10am - Noon - Carols - Merry Bells, Wheatley
- Susan Prest
><> 2pm - 4pm - Carols - ASDA, Wheatley - Gordon Ewbank
Dec 21 (Sunday)
><> Joint Wheatley Area Carol Service - St Mary's, Wheatley
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Monday
><> 2:30pm House Group - Wheatley URC
Jennifer Newton - 01865 876066 or Marian Brown - 01865 872245
><> 8pm Home Group - Wheatley - Lucy Betts - 01865 875436
Tuesday
><> Foundations course - URC, Wheatley
- Marty Woods - 01865 876596
Wednesday
><> 7:45pm House Group - Wheatley
- Jennifer Newton - 01865 876066
Thursday
><> 7:30am Prayers & Breakfast at Wheatley URC
Friday
><> Wheatley URC House group in Thame
Saturday
><> 9:30am - 10am - Prayer - Merry Bells, Wheatley
><> 10am - Noon - Meeting Point - Merry Bells, Wheatley
- Cyril Newton - 01865 876066
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| ><> REQUESTS <>< |
| Ask and you will receive |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
><> Laptop Appeal
Does any one have a (not too) old Windows laptop they could
give to a refugee from Burundi to help him with his studies at
All Nations college? Theodore is hoping to graduate in the
next year or so and lead a team returning to the improving
security situation in his country, to help rebuild its society
through the love of the church. Call Lucy Betts - 01865 875436
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
><> JAR OF GRACE by Gillian and David Herring
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
The children's charity UNICEF says that 8000 children die
every day as a direct result of drinking dirty water, and
nearly 3 BILLION people, half of humanity, are denied access
to clean water, a basic human right. You can help by taking
part in the 'Jar of Grace': you are given a label to stick on
an empty jar, then as you say grace before each meal,
remember the children who do not have clean water to drink,
and drop a coin into your 'Jar of Grace'. If you don't
usually say grace, you could take a few moments to remember
those in need of the life-giving water which we take for
granted. When the Jar is full, you can send the money to
UNICEF, who will use it to help buy oral rehydration sachets
(£2 can save the lives of 6 children) and water purification
tablets, or the money can help install a water pump, each
pump serving a community of 250 people.
If you would like to take part in the 'Jar of Grace', and as
well as giving, keep aware of and pray for those who have so
little compared to us in the U.K., please telephone Gillian
Herring on 01865 874590 or see her at the URC, and she will
provide a leaflet including information, a sticker and a form
for returning the money collected to UNICEF; alternatively
she can collect the Jar from you, count the money, return the
Jar to you and send the money to UNICEF. Donating via the Jar
can make meal-times much more meaningful!
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| ><> LET US PRAY <>< |
| He is listening... |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
Please pray for all the events mentioned above, especially
for the fund raising Fetes and Bazaars for the local
churches, and also for the Wheatley Fun Day as local
Christians engage with their community so that in turn they
might engage with their local churches, and as the parable
goes, return to their heavenly Father.
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| ><> LOCAL LINKS <>< |
| wwjd.com |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
St Nicholas Church, Ickford
via http://www.ickford.org.uk/
The Thomley Hall Centre, Worminghall
http://www.thomleyhall.org/
and http://www.lewknor.org.uk/grapevine_march_2003.htm#autism
St Mary's Church, Oakley
http://www.oakleystmarys.org/
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| ><> REVELATIONS <>< |
| And finally... |
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Please invite along all your friends to the Wheatley Fun Day
on Saturday Nov 8th at the Wheatley Primary School from 3pm,
especially those with families, and those that do not go to
church. It will be a great opportunity for us to gently show
our Christian witness to them. If you would like to do this
more effectively, and/or help on the day, there is a training
evening at the URC, Wheatley at 7:30pm, Nov 5th, organised by
Fusion.
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><> WHO IS FUSION? by Marty Woods
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
A number of people have been asking who Fusion is and why are
they setting up a centre in the Oxford area. So your editor
asked the co-ordinator of the group, Marty Woods, to tell us
a little more about who they are.
Fusion Youth & Community is an Australian–based movement that
began over 40 years ago to work with young people at risk.
Since then they have grown to over 200 fulltime staff in 24
centres across the country with thousands of volunteers. They
have developed models of bringing the local Churches together
and helping them do mission in the heart of the community.
They provide support, training and resources.
Over the last few years Fusion has sensed that God has called
them to “expand their tent pegs”. A new centre has begun in
Canada and 2 more will be starting shortly in Indonesia and
South Africa. Marty & Jenny were asked last year to move to
the UK. Marty was the previous State Director of New South
Wales responsible for 7 centres across that state and Jenny
helped run the local Youth Café based in one of Sydney’s most
multi-cultural communities.
One of the things that Fusion has done successfully has been
in helping the Churches come together to run local Festivals.
Recent research has confirmed that a significant way to build
community is to run events of celebration that bring the
community together. Fusion helped do this during the Sydney
Olympics and had over 500 Churches run 115 Festivals that
attracted 250,000 people. They have been invited by the
Churches in Greece to help them run Festivals during the
Olympics next year and they will be moving there in June next
year for 3 months.
They have moved to the local area as they wanted to have a
base that was central across the UK. They are keen to help
local Christians work together in mission. They have
established a local group with a team of people wanting to
make a difference in the Wheatley area. They are currently
running a Foundations Discipleship course and are helping
make the Family Festival happen on the 8th of November.
If you would like to know more about them and how they might
be able to assist your local community in community outreach
or maybe have them speak at your Church then please ring
Marty & Jen Woods on 01865 876598 http://www.fusion.org.au/
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| ><> SMALL PRINT <>< |
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Christians in the Community is a digest of Christian
happenings in the Wheatley area and beyond. It is compiled by
Kevin Betts from information he gets sent. Submissions
deadline for next issue is 29th November.
(Un)subscribe or News to Email: Kevin1.Betts@ntlworld.com
Phone: 01865 875436
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