Issue #10 of Wheatley Area Newsletter

               Horton cum Studley             Oakley
                                   +---+
    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.

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    HEADLINES: One World Week Lunch, "Go for Gold" Report,
               Quiz Night!, Housing Appeal,
               Operation Christmas Child Appeal
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

    "The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my saviour; my God is
    my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the
    strength of my salvation, and my stronghold, my high tower,
    my saviour, the one who saves me from violence. I will call
    on the LORD, who is worthy of praise, for he saves me from my
    enemies."                                    2 Samuel, 22:2-4

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    |                     ><> GOOD NEWS <><                     |
    |                Building the Kingdom Locally               |
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> One World Week Lunch by Bob Webster
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    On Saturday October 23rd, from Noon to 2pm there will be a
    One World Week Lunch at the Merry Bells.

    This year we plan to hold a lunch with a focus on one
    particular region of the world - the Middle East. We will eat
    some of the delicious cuisine of the region and have displays
    and entertainment to help us consider matters of concern
    there.

    Entry will be by ticket, £3 per adult, £2 per child

    If you can help with the catering, displays, music or
    entertainment, please speak to Ellen or Bob Webster, Ann
    Stephenson or Jim Watson.

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> Go for Gold Holiday Club by Kath McNee and Lucy Betts
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

    Thank you to all those at the URC, who contributed to the
    success of this week. We were very grateful for the use of
    the gazebos, which were transformed into different countries
    by amazing creativity. Thank you to those who helped out and
    made cakes and generally joined in the fun. A special thanks
    to Jack Salter, who did a wonderful job of videoing the
    event. Below is an account of what went on!

    An amazing week was had at the 'Go for Gold' holiday club at
    Wheatley Primary School!  It was organised by WICK (Wheatley
    Inter- Church Kids) and 60 children from Wheatley and
    surrounding villages enjoyed the fun and games from 9.30 till
    noon during the last week of August.

    Go for Gold was based on the Olympic Games theme and the
    children attended as athletes from different "countries"
    ranging from Greece to India, Australia to China, Jamaica to
    Russia and Italy. We began with an opening ceremony and each
    morning included warm up exercises, games, singing, a video
    on the stories of St Paul's life and a suspenseful 'detective
    drama' - acted out by the leaders. The children had time in
    small groups to learn about their countries and to talk about
    what they had learnt in the morning. One of the highlights
    was when some of the children got to race each other to make
    a banana split with cream, chocolate sauce and hundreds and
    thousands on a banana held in the mouth of one of the
    leaders! You can imagine it got quite messy!!

    On the Sunday there was a closing ceremony involving all the
    children and their parents and supported by the local
    churches in Wheatley. At the ceremony the parents enjoyed
    some of the songs as they joined in the celebration. They
    also witnessed, some with tears in their eyes, a video of
    snippets of the action that had taken place during the week.
    James Watson, vicar of St Mary's Wheatley, spoke about 'Going
    for Gold' and 'Going for God'. The morning ended with a B B Q
    and tug of war, which were great fun.

    We would like to thank all those who took part and especially
    those who sponsored the event, enabling WICK to offer the
    week free to the community. By the time the week had
    concluded, many of the parents were amazed that such a
    programme could be offered with no money being asked of them.
    Many thanks to the Co-op, Crick's Butcher, The Cornfield
    Bakery, Goochi Hairdressers, Taylors, Tesco (Abingdon),
    Johnson Honda, Robinson's Trees, Londis (Wheatley), Wilsons
    Solicitors, Builders Plus, Rose's Plaice, Mcdonalds
    (Headington), ASDA (Wheatley).

    Next WICK event - Children's Christmas Festival, Saturday
    11th December 2004, 2 - 4pm at Wheatley Primary School.

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> St Mary's Family Quiz by Kevin Betts
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    On Friday, October 29th at 7pm there will be another Family
    Quiz night in aid of St Mary's, Wheatley. The fun will start
    at 7pm at the Merry Bells. Tickets are £5 each, and include a
    ploughman's supper. Wine and soft drinks will be available
    for a further donation! For tickets contact Tony Wigley
    or Lucy Betts.

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    |                       ><> EVENTS <><                      |
    |                     Signs and Wonders                     |
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

    Sep 25 (Saturday)
    ><> 10am-Noon: Sale of goods for Darfur - URC Hall, Wheatley

    Sep 26 (Sun)
    ><> 10am - St Nicholas, Forest Hill; Harvest Festival and
        opening of new vestry. Followed by BBQ lunch.

    Oct 3 (Sunday)
    ><> St Mary's Harvest Lunch at the Merry Bells

    Oct 4 - 8 (Mon - Fri)
    ><> First week of "God our Rock" study course.
        Please contact Revd James Watson for further details if
        you would like to join a study group.

    Oct 13 (Wed)
    ><> Fusion "Foundations" course starts and runs every
        Wednesday night until Christmas. Please contact Dan
        Evenhuis at dan.evenhuis@fusion.org.au if you would
        like to join.

    Oct 16 (Sat)
    ><> 7pm - Pianola Prom at Shotover House in aid of
        St Nicholas Forest Hill Project. £12.50 for Concert and
        Buffet Supper - wine and soft drinks included.

    Oct 23 (Sat)
    ><> Noon-2pm: One World Week Lunch at the Merry Bells
        Food, displays and entertainment from the Middle East.
        Entry will be by ticket, £3 per adult, £2 per child
    ><> Celebration Praise, The Marlborough School, Woodstock
        An ecumenical day exploring and resourcing Worship
                http://www.oxford.anglican.org/detail.php?id=1100

    Oct 24 (Sun)
    ><> 6pm: Granary - Wheatley Area Churches Service

    Oct 29 (Fri)
    ><> 7:30pm - Merry Bells - St Mary's Quiz Night
        Tickets are £5 each, and include a ploughman's supper.
        For tickets contact Tony Wigley, or Lucy Betts

    Nov 6 (Sat)
    ><> St Mary's Autumn Bazaar at the Merry Bells

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    |                      ><> REQUESTS <><                     |
    |                  Ask and you will receive                 |
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> Housing Appeal by Jill Ewbank
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    WANTED - Bungalow in Wheatley in good order, 2/3 bedrooms,
    parking essential, garage desirable. Please contact Jill
    Ewbank: Tel 01865 873326.

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> Operation Christmas Child - Appeal for 2004 by Lucy Betts
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    Thank you so much for the great response I had from my appeal
    a few months ago for people to help with this project. I have
    had many volunteers to fill boxes and also knit extra hats
    and scarves but we could always do with more! Operation
    Christmas Child is run by the Samaritan's Purse International
    Organisation, which is a Christian charity. This year our aim
    is to send even more Christmas shoeboxes filled with gifts to
    children in need in Eastern European countries. Last year one
    million boxes were sent from the UK and the ones from this
    area went to Romania. This year we hope to increase on the
    number sent.

    If you would like to be involved please contact me and I can
    send you a leaflet with details of how to fill a shoebox. We
    ask that the shoeboxes are covered in Christmas wrapping
    paper and are filled with items from the following list
    either for a boy or a girl suitable for ages 2 - 4 years or
    5 - 9 years or 10 - 14 years:
    A cuddly toy
    A toothbrush, toothpaste, a bar of soap and flannel
    A notepad, colouring book, picture books
    Pencils and pens
    A set of crayons or felt pens
    A hat, cap, gloves, scarf
    A small ball or tennis ball
    A puzzle e.g. small jigsaw
    A toy car/plane (for boys)
    Jewellery (such as a bead necklace or hair accessories)
    A greetings card or photo of yourself
    Sweets (No chocolate allowed due to customs regulations)
    We also ask for a £2 donation to help with the transport
    costs.

    We always need extra hats and scarves and empty shoeboxes so
    I would be grateful to receive any extra of these items.
    I need to receive the shoeboxes by 21st November 2004 so that
    they can be checked for customs purposes and then transported
    abroad in time for Christmas.

    Please ring me if you are interested to become involved.
    Thank you for all your support.

    Lucy Betts - 01865 875436
    Operation Christmas Child Wheatley Area Representative

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    |                    ><> LOCAL LINKS <><                    |
    |                         wwjd.com                          |
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

    ><> Premier Radio is now broadcasting nationwide on Freeview
        channel 96 - retune your set top box today!
                                        http://www.premier.org.uk

    ><> Marty & Jen Woods have completed their mission at the
        Athens Olympics. They ran 26 festivals in all but one of
        the Olympic venues, finding crucial help from a former
        Wheatley resident in the second city of Thessaloniki!
             http://www.2kplus.org.uk/audio/OL2004/MartyWoods.mp3

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    |                     ><> SMALL PRINT <><                   |
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

    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 October.
    Past issues can be found here:
                      http://www.wheatleychurches.org/newsletter/

    (Un)subscribe or News to Email: Kevin1.Betts@ntlworld.com
                             Phone: 01865 875436