Issue #16 of Wheatley Area Newsletter

                 Horton cum Studley             Oakley
                                   +---+
    Beckley             CHRISTIANS |   | IN
                                   |   |
       Stanton St John        +----+   +----+     Worminghall
                              |             |
           Forest Hill        +----+   +----+         Ickford
                                   |   |           Waterperry
                    Holton     THE |   | COMMUNITY
                   Wheatley        |   |             Waterstock
          Littleworth              |   |              Tiddington
          Horspath                 +---+         Milton Common
                        Cuddesdon           Great Milton
             Garsington       Denton                Great Haseley
                                         Little Milton
   
    An adhoc newsletter for Christians in the Wheatley Area.
    To join or to send news: email kevin@kbetts.com
    Please forward to those who may be interested, or print off
    for them if they have no email.

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    |                     ><> GOOD NEWS <><                     |
    |                Building the Kingdom Locally               |
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> Induction of new URC Minister
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    The induction of Revd. Tanya Rasmussen will take place in the
    Wheatley URC Church at 11:30am on Saturday 13th September,
    2008. Everybody is welcome to attend this service and to stay
    for lunch, afterwards.
     

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> Champions Challenge Report by Kath McNee
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
     
    ‘My daughter Bethany is just so keen; she’s already asked if
    she can come next year’. This was one of the comments heard
    after the FIRST morning of our annual Summer Club here in
    Wheatley. This year, due to an increase in interest, we moved
    our Club to a different site ~ the Wheatley Park School
    Campus. We had 126 registered (with 8 children on waiting
    lists) and 57 volunteers ready to share some or all of the
    week with us! Thirteen colour coded teams, each with two
    ‘coaches’, were involved in MANY varied activities all week,
    including crafts, silly games, singing (complete with our own
    band this year!), great teaching (on a personal level AND
    through a DVD which the young people had spent many hours
    making) and crazy dramas involving a new sport called
    ‘Squadgangabasenetfoot’!

    One of beautiful things about this week was leading with 12
    of our young people, who had been coming to the clubs for
    the past 5 years as participants and who this year, have been
    involved in the preparation meetings and were very much a
    part of the leadership in each of their teams during the
    week. What a joy to see them sharing THEIR time with our
    youngsters!

    The feedback has been so positive from parents and children
    alike (and even the team!!), we look forward to making 2009
    bigger and even more far reaching! Come join us for the ride!

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> Encounter at St Mary’s
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    A new service of contemporary worship and reflection is being
    launched at St Mary’s Church, Wheatley. It will be a monthly
    service, each 4th Sunday at 6pm, starting 28th September
    Contact John Baker on 01865 874999 / 07801 324268 for details
     

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> Fusion Harvest Funday
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    Fusion will be holding a Harvest Funday on the Cullum Road /
    Leyshon Road recreation ground, Wheatley on October 11th from
    1 to 4pm – bring your friends and neighbours!
    There will be a Funday training and prayer evening on Tuesday
    7th October at a venue to be confirmed.
    For more information contact Gordon Ewbank on
    Gordon.ewbank@googlemail.com 

     

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> Men’s Group
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    A group of family men are meeting for drinks on the last
    Thursday of every month at The Sun from 8pm onwards.
    The group is planning its next Men’s breakfast at the URC
    Church Hall on 11th October from 8:30am on the topic of Men’s
    Health.
    Contact Revd James Watson, Ricky Cherry or Kevin Betts
    (01865 875436 or Kevin@kbetts.com) for more information.
    http://tinyurl.com/6xxe46 
     

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> St Mary’s Harvest Lunch
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    St Mary’s will be having a Family Harvest Festival Service on
    5th October at 10am followed by informal bring and share
    lunch at the Merry Bells. This is an event you can invite
    your friends and family to.
    Contact Lucy Betts on 01865 875436 or lucy@kbetts.com for
    more information.
     

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> Food 4 Thought
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    A youth bible study group meets every two weeks at the
    Benson’s barn. If you know of any teenagers who would
    interested in joining the group, please contact Malcolm
    Benson or Guy Lowe.

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> Monthly Prayer Meeting
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    Just a reminder that David & Sarah Bendor Samuel host an
    evening monthly prayer meeting on the 4th Tuesday of each
    month at their house.

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> Operation Christmas Child – Appeal for 2008 by Lucy Betts
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
     
    Thank you so much for the great response I had from my appeal
    last year and can you believe that it is time to start
    thinking about filling shoeboxes again for Christmas!
    This year our aim is to send even more Christmas shoeboxes
    filled with gifts to children in need which are mainly sent
    to in Eastern European countries.
    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 or
    you can collect a leaflet from the porch of St Mary’s Church
    on Church Road, Wheatley from 1st October. 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 or 5–9 or 10–14:

    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 £2.50 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 10th November 2008 so that
    they can be checked for customs purposes and then transported
    abroad in time for Christmas. Please drop the boxes off in
    the porch at 2 Wren Close, Wheatley.
    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

    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> Training Opportunities
    +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
    ><> Messy Fiesta with Lucy Moore on 27th September:
        http://tinyurl.com/5ut76h
        or http://www.messychurch.org.uk/ 
         
    ><> “Incarnational Mission” with Mike Frost at the new CMS
        Centre for Mission on 9th October:
        http://www.facingthechallenge.org/oxford.pdf 
    ><> “Enough is Enough” with CMS, Oxford on 25th October:
        http://tinyurl.com/66rlbn