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From the 'new' Manse

16 Booth Drive Ashbourne Derbyshire DE6 1SZ
Tel: 01335 342408 email: revtimmorris@aol.com

Dear Friends,

New Beginnings

My first words to you must be: THANK YOU. Thank you for the warmth of the welcome you have shown to Alison, Samuel, Jacob and myself since we moved to the new Manse at the beginning of August.

The house is beginning to feel like "home" and we are very grateful to the Circuit for agreeing to its acquisition. The "locals" are friendly and I am
already enjoying getting to know folk in the Circuit as the usual round of meetings and church life begin afresh.

We stand at a new beginning for us all - you, me, my family, our Churches and the Circuit. We have recently had a new Vicar (Geraldine Pond) in Ashbourne, and soon there will be a new Vicar (Paul Taylor) in Brailsford. Our new Ecumenical Youth Worker Linda Rose has already begun her work in the Circuit and Deanery. I look forward to working with those who have just begun their ministry here and with those who have been around for a while longer. All of us, together with so many others, provide a community of faith. That faith calls us to build each other up in the love of God. That, I hope, is where we can all begin.

As those of us who come new to this place, we face new challenges and
opportunities and we need to do so drawing upon the faith story of all those who have stood in this place before us. Our role and presence here is about building upon and complementing all that has gone before. We haven't come to reinvent the wheel! But we also come to this new place to exercise our ministry, bringing the 'newness' of ourselves which, when shared, becomes a new beginning for everyone.

I feel very privileged to be coming to the Circuit to share with you in what you are currently doing and seeking God's vision and calling for us all for the future. With a sense of excitement I look forward to all that will unfold as we share together in the ministry and mission of the Church - sharing the Good News of God's love as we find it in Jesus. May His Spirit equip, enable and empower us!

Your minister and friend,
Tim

Ashbourne Men's Fellowship

The next meeting of Ashbourne Men's Fellowship takes place on Monday 17th September, 7.30pm at the Ashbourne Golf Club
This time, we have a really practical after dinner speaker in the form of Roger Hosking who runs Highfields Happy Hens, Etwall.
Roger & Beryl Hosking have dedicated their lives to helping disadvantaged young people find peace, hope and a future through realistic training and companionship in a loving and Christian environment.I have heard Roger speak before and it's a great testimony, so book your tickets now from myself or Jonathan Webb, Ian Marsh, Stuart Mustow, Robert Sales, Tim Dutton or Peter Flinn.

We are getting a good attendance from sister Churches, so it is a great chance to meet up with like minded men from the area. Do invite a friend.

The price of £12 includes a 2 course meal with tea/coffee. Chris Morris 01335 348240

MISSION MATTERS

JMA (Junior Mission for All)
Thank you to all JMA members, helpers and their contributors over the past year. £836.10 has been collected. Well done! (£605.94 was collected the
previous year). We say thank you to Naomi Lowe for being a great support as a JMA helper. Ezra Morris continues and Emily Marsh is taking over from Naomi as a helper. Any member who hasn't yet handed in their 2006-7 collecting book please give this to their collector or Ruth Mallard as soon as possible. If anyone would like to contribute to JMA please link up with one of the JMA members (Hannah Marsh, Natasha Allen, Matthew Allen, Joy Mallard, David Haslam, Christian Mallard, Rachel Sales, Sam Glossop, Joe Herbert) or speak to Ruth Mallard.

Case study: JMA is helping the children that work all day every day on the 200- acre rubbish dump in Nagpur, India. The children pick rags to sell and will earn 50-70p per day to help their families. JMA is assisting them to have a better life. God has a special love for children, and a deep concern for their hopes and dreams. Be part of God's love as you pray for these children. Please pray for JMA and its friends in the Church of North India. Pray for the children you know too.

Methodist Mission Partners
Thank you to all those who made Jonathan & Isabel Hill and their children, our Methodist Mission Partners from Zimbabwe, welcome in Ashbourne. Please continue to pray for them as they arrive back in Zimbabwe. Thank you to all those who contributed to the retiring collections in June and who have sent gifts so that the Hill family can help with basic relief to those in greatest need where they live and work.

If you would like to contact them as a sign of friendship and encouragement here are their contact details: Mr. and Mrs. J. Hill and family, P.O. Box 41, Plumtree, Zimbabwe (allow up to 6 weeks for post)
E-mail: hillfamily@comone.co.zw.
Hill family news and pictures of the family can be found on the mission notice board and you can find further information on:
http://hillfamilyeaster2007.blogspot.com

Jonathan and Isabel have written a little to inform us of the work with orphans and other vulnerable children: "The Methodist Church, Bulawayo District, is in the process of building a children's home in one of our rural circuits. It will house children under difficult circumstances who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS and are unable to manage with school fees, uniforms and food. Our district covers Matebeleland South Province, which is a semiarid region and agricultural production is very low. There is a very high school dropout rate in the province and 80% of dropouts are orphans or other vulnerable children who had lost their parents or breadwinners to HIV/AIDS. The building work has come to a stand still because of lack of funds. Foundations, walls and door and window frames are in place, but there is no roof yet. There is need for the drilling and equipping of a bore hole to supply water for the home." The need is for approx. £4000 to do this work." Jonathan also advised us that £14 per month would feed a child headed orphan family with basic food. If you have ideas for support or fundraising that we can provide in our Circuit please speak to Ruth Mallard Tel: 01335 348342. E-mail: ruth@mallards.me.uk

Millennium Development Goals
The mid-point progress report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has just been published. Here is some idea of how we are doing on the way towards 2015.
The proportion of people living on US$1 a day or less has fallen from 45.9 percent to 41.1 percent since 1999; however, achieving the MDG target of halving the extent of extreme poverty in Africa by 2015 means the pace of reduction has to be doubled.
Only five donor countries have reached or exceeded the long-standing UN target of donating 0.7 percent of gross national income being to development aid - Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
Indeed, total official development assistance fell in real terms by 5.1 percent between 2005 and 2006, the first decline since 1997, despite pledges by the G8 industrialised nations at the Gleneagles summit in 2005 to double aid to Africa by 2010.
Worldwide, the proportion of people living on $1 a day has dropped from 32 percent (1.25 billion in 1990) to 19 percent (980 million in 2004). According to the report, if that trend continues, the "MDG poverty reduction target will be met for the world as a whole and for most regions".
Primary school enrolment has increased from 80 percent in 1991 to 88 percent in 2005. There has been a decline in child mortality, mainly through
interventions against measles. In southern Asia, almost 30 percent of people still live on $1 day while in eastern Asia the share of income of the poorest fifth of the population had fallen from 7.3 percent in 1990 to 4.5 percent
Taken from the UN Millennium Development Goals website

Support for the persecuted Church worldwide
Open Doors is running a one-day event on 29th September called Unite, in West Bromwich, to encourage the UK Church to connect with the persecuted Church worldwide. Christian Solidarity Worldwide will also be there on the day. It will run from 10am-5pm with presentations and contemplative prayer. The evening event will run from 7.30-9.30pm and will feature live music, multimedia presentations, short interviews with persecuted Christians and interactive prayer. For more information visit www.opendoorsuk.org.uk

Prayer
Compassionate God,
Open our ears - to hear what you are saying to us through our experiences and through the people we meet.
Open our eyes - to see the needs of those around us.
Open our hands - to work for your kingdom and to offer help to those in need.
Open our lips - to share with others the good news of Jesus and to bring
comfort, peace and hope to those whose hurt is deep.
Open our minds - to discover new truths about you and to learn more about the community and world in which we live.
Open our hearts - to love you and to love and welcome the people for whom we care as you have loved and cared for us. Amen.

District Events:

Racial Justice Sunday
A date for your diaries: On Sunday 9th September at St. Mary's, Edwinstowe there are afternoon workshops followed by an evening of international worship. The speaker is Dr. Anthony Reddie, Research Fellow and Consultant in Black Theological Studies at the Queen's Foundation in Birmingham. More details from Andrew Barker on 0115 9819619 and a.barker@btinternet.com

Cargo written by Paul Field
Music and action especially to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the passage of Wilberforce's anti-slavery bill. Celebrate the work of Wilberforce and his co-workers, understand the tragedy of those bleak years, and work towards the elimination of slavery today by engaging in the Trade Justice Movement.
Gotham Church on Sat. 29th September 7.30pm.Burton on Trent at the
Brewhouse on Oct 5th, Watnall Road Baptist Church, Hucknall on October 6th. Further details: www.paulfield.com/cargo

Ruth Mallard

PRAYER FAIR.
As part of our on going response to 'pray without ceasing' there will be a "prayer fair' in Church on 8th September 10.00am. until noon.
There will be opportunities to consider if different ways of praying can deepen your own prayer life, or that of your group. Displays will include the use of biblical material as well as everyday objects.
Please come and take the time to think about how prayer, such a vital part of our personal and corporate Christian journey, can be used in worship,
connect us with others and bring us into a deeper relationship with our
loving, saving and creating God.
(contact Heather Garbutt 344886)

ONE WORLD GROUP

SEPTEMBER
HARVEST COLLECTION FOR BELARUS/HONDURAS
The One World Group will be organising the annual harvest collection of dried foods etc. on behalf of Ashbourne Churches Together. This year the food will be going to Honduras not Belarus. It will be sent via Mrs Ann Rimmer as usual but she is having increasing difficulty in getting permission to take food into Belarus. In addition to her trips there she also organises a
container to be sent by sea to Honduras each year and our food will be part of that. The requirements are the same as in previous years, namely:
Plain Flour; Rice; Pasta; Pulses; Sugar; Salt; Tea; Dried fruit in packets (not tins or jars please because of the weight) with a sell by date of May
2008 or later.
There will be the usual collection at our Harvest Service on Sunday 23 September.

OCTOBER
PLOUGHMANS' SUPPER - QUIZ NIGHT and FUN! THURSDAY OCT. 11th. St. Oswald's Church Hall Tickets £4-00 including supper.

ONE WORLD WEEK 2007
THURSDAY 25th OCTOBER
Paul Scola, CAFOD District Representative will give a talk in the Meeting Room, All Saints Church, Belle Vue Rd. Paul has recently visited Kenya and he will talk about that visit with particular reference to the effects of climate change on developing countries.

ACE Youth Worker

Linda Rose began work on 1 August.(see article later in this issue), If you have any ideas about the type of project that she might work on please contact
either our Minister, Revd. Tim Morris or the Rural Dean, Revd. Christopher Harrison. They are her line managers.

WOMEN'S NETWORK

Meeting at Hulland - Thursday 6 September
Our next Circuit event is a meeting at Hulland Chapel at 2.15 pm on Thursday 6 September. The speaker will be the Rev Fiona Vickerstaffe of Sudbury. There will be refreshments and a bring and buy stall at the close. All proceeds are for the Fund for World Mission. Why not join us for a time of good fellowship? All welcome! If you need a lift, please let me know and I will endeavour to arrange one.

District Day - Wednesday 10 October
Our next District Day will be on 10 October at Dale Road MethodistChurch Darley Dale. In the afternoon the speaker will be past District President, Barbara Brown, who wi1l be speaking on her visit to Poland when she led a Conference there. I'm sure it will be a very lively and enlightening experience for us! Please make a note of the date and come along. Further details later or please see me.

Circuit event - Monday 15 October
Please make a note of this date in your diaries - we have reserved it for a Circuit event, but have yet to decide on its format! However, you can rest assured it will be well worth your time coming!

Alma Swan (343751)

Ashbourne - Patna Partnership

PRAYERS FOR PATNA
Please pray for Christ Church Diocesan School - the Principal, the teachers and the pupils as they strive to improve the School so that it is accredited as an examination centre. Pray for strong leadership so that the school can provide a good education for the young people who attend it.

Family History Group

It has become apparent that a number of people in the church are interested in researching their family history, either as a beginner or as someone who has been delving into the past for some time and has therefore become more experienced. Betty Hadley and John Perkins have been successfully researching their families past for some time now and feel that a group which meets either on a regular or occasional basis would be helpful, both for those wishing to know how to begin, or who are looking for new ideas. For example, there are many and helpful websites available which makes searching much easier. We are proposing therefore that we start a group on the 12th September in The Cornerstone, from 7.30 pm to 9 pm to explore whether there is sufficient interest for this to be viable. Future meetings of the group would probably be held in homes in order to be able to use the internet.
If you are interested, either have a word with John or Betty, or simply turn up on the night.
Betty Hadley. 01335 300699. John Perkins, 01335 300908.

CHURCH FAMILY NEWS

CONGRATULATIONS! To Frances Beardmore and James Taylor on the announcement of their engagement. We wish them well.

THANK YOU - Many thanks to all who gave donations in the "RACE for LIFE" Over £800 was was sent to Cancer Research UK .
Ruth and Hannah Lowe

BAPTISM - Naomi Lowe would like friends to know that she is to be baptised at Elim Pentecostal Church on Sunday 9th September at 6.30pm.
The service will be led by Rev Alec Prail and Rev Trevor Staniforth.
Friends welcome.

HELEN FLINN - About 60 volunteers and regular customers gathered
recently to express their thanks to Helen for her inspiring leadership of The Cornerstone Team over the last 9 years, following her recent 'retirement'.

REACHING OUT
ADVANCE NOTICE

There is to be a day seminar at Brailsford Methodist Church between 10am & 3.30pm on November 3rd suitable for anyone who is involved in preaching or individuals wondering how to connect with those who do not go to church or for the chapels as they seek to explore new ways of reaching the un-churched. It will be an interactive day, a fun day and will help give us renewed confidence in reaching out as we begin to understand the issues surrounding us in today's society.

Some area's to be covered include

·State of the Church Today
·Faith After Christianity
·Unchanging Message in a Changing World (Postmodernity)
·Creating Worship for the Not Yet Christian
·Exploring a biblical basis
·Beginners guide to Postmodernity
Topics will be covered using film clips, 'brainstorming' (shower thoughts) & group work

The day will be led by Brian Rice who is a worship leader and musician. The event is hosted by Derbyshire Village Mission.
More details will be in the next magazine.

Brailsford Methodist Church Extension Fund

There will be OPEN HOUSE on Saturday 22nd September
10.00am - 12noon & 2 .00 -4.00pm
At the home of Pauline and John Latham
"TWOWAYS" ROUGH LANE Nr SHIRLEY
ALL ARE WELCOME
Refreshments, Cakes and Items suitable for presents on sale.
Tel 01335 361315

Warning: Thrilling Ride Ahead!

It's amazing how quickly you feel that you have been in a job forever, especially when everyone is so friendly and warm that you feel like you must have known each other for years. It's been a bit like that since receiving the wonderful news that I'd been put in post as the new ACE (Ashbourne Ecumenical Churches) Youth Co-ordinator for the Ashbourne circuit and deanery. I have been touched and amazed by the many many people who have wished me well and offered their support and assistance in my new post and I am already indebted to those whose practical, spiritual and emotional support I have already clung to like a safety jacket as I try to come to terms with the tidal waves of new information; names, faces and situations that I need to become familiar with as quickly as possible.

To introduce myself a little more, I am married to husband David who works in Bromsgrove writing computer help systems, and have two great sons,
Jason (nearly 19) who is shortly off to York University to study Astro-physics having had a gap year, and Elliot (17) is about to take his final A level year at his school in Swadlincote.

I have been a professional youth worker mostly with Derbyshire County Council since 1991 and set up a number of youth projects including a Youth Information Shop and a drugs support project. More recently I have been working out in Sri Lanka where over 4 visits I have been privileged to work for many different government and charity agencies, and with many other groups. I was initially invited to run training courses on how to work creatively with traumatised young people, but have also spent quite a while running creative programmes in the prisons, including on death row, and spent a short time de-briefing war victims. It's been great to compare notes with those who have experienced the Patma diocese as there are many similarities with Indian and Sri Lankan culture, though fortunately India does not see the scale of war that Sri Lanka is currently struggling with.

I am so delighted to be here in Ashbourne, and everyone has been so kind and thoughtful I really want to express my gratitude to you all, and tell you that I am excited by all that can be achieved over the next few years. It's been great seeing the wonderful work that already happens with the holiday clubs, and with such positive expectations and openness to working together, seeing the best in one another's differences and similarities, I think that there is unlimited potential to make an impact on the young people of the Ashbourne area.

And this is not only for our own Christian young people, who need love,
understanding and support as they battle the minefield of modern teenage life as Christians in an atheist and hedonistic society - but also for us to be a
beacon of light and hope in the community of Ashbourne and the surrounding area. We within the churches and chapels of the area have a fabulous opportunity to open our hearts and doors to those who desperately need physical, emotional and spiritual support in the wider community.

It is always a difficult balancing act to nurture those already in our spiritual families but remain open and inviting to those from different cultural backgrounds - not just those seeking new opportunities or refuge from beyond our shores, but those who don't share our values or Christian culture.

I am excited by this challenge; I'm sure that you are too. And as you contribute prayerfully, financially and physically to this post of ACE Youth Co-ordinator, may it be like the loaves and fishes which multiplied immeasurably under God's hand.

Thank you for setting me off on this journey. Now let's buckle our seatbelts - and see where God takes us!!

Linda Rose
Current contact details: linda_rose@hotmail.co.uk (N.B. - not as in Ashbourne newspaper!) 01283 224719

ASHBOURNE CHURCH COUNCIL
Minutes of a meeting held on Thursday 14 June 2007 at 7.30 pm in The Cornerstone.
Appointments from September 2007 - The following appointments were made for the coming year:
Treasurer: Ann Parkinson
Church Council Secretary: Stephanie Cole
Communion Stewards: Judith Starkie, Doris Harrison, Sue McKeown, and Rosemary Webb
Representatives to Circuit meeting: Paul Haslam*, Elizabeth Hurfurt, Cliff Lewer*, Ian Marsh, Carole Thorpe, Eric Matthews (* Cliff Lewer and Paul Haslam are automatically members of the Circuit Committee so there are now 2 vacancies.)
Pastoral Secretary: Judith Bale
Pastoral Visitors: Gwenda Alcock, Hedley Alcock, Margaret Bacon, Tom Bacon, Judith Bale, Jan Elliott, Heather Garbutt, Doris Harrison,
Margaret Hasler, Val Howse, Dreda Kitchen, Jacinth Land, Marianne Matthews, Tom Parkinson, Molly Phipps, Gwilym Roberts, Judith Starkie, Alma Swan, Jean Wathall, and Rosemary Webb
Independent Examiner: Roger Davies
Finance Committee: 2 vacancies
Finance Committee (Lay Chairman) - David Bale
Property Committee: David Coackley, Don Cox, David Heaton and Eric Williams
Property Committee (Lay Chairman): Ian Marsh
Property Committee Secretary: Betty Hadley
Ashbourne Partnership: Ian Marsh
Ashbourne Churches Together: Jacqui Marsh and John Dyster
Stewards - Approval was given to confirm the booking for the Church Weekend 2008 and to open it up to the whole circuit.
Young People - A meeting will be arranged between all young people's group leaders with the aim to get better coordination across the whole of our young people's work. A new helper for Youth Club and a new leader for Children's Church are needed before September.
People Resource is a big issue within our church. Perhaps there needs to be some forward planning to identify the various roles and offices within the church and to match these with the incumbents and identify their possible successors, with training provided as necessary. Stewards to look at how this can best be organised. Some activities may only be able to continue in partnership with other churches.
Cornerstone - Our heartfelt thanks go to Helen for the enormous amount of work that she has done over the years. After a meeting of volunteers, a management group was setup. Approval was given for this group and for them to co-opt other members as required. Each member will oversee an aspect of the work with Alan Wright being a point of reference for all enquiries.
Ashbourne Churches Together - The Midday Prayers and Lunch will be in the Methodist Church on 9 July at 12 noon.
Worship Development Group - There have been many positive comments about the worship teams and Church Council approved their continued use.
Authorised Ecumenical Youth Worker (ACE Youth Worker) - Linda Rose has been appointed. She lives in Swadlincote and has worked for Leicester County Council with youths who have problems. She has connections with Tsunami victims from Sri Lanka.
Holiday Clubs - Approval was given by Church Council for a summer holiday club if helpers are available. Dates and the number of people required will be given soon.
Harvest - One World Group will be highlighting the "Impact of Climate Change on Harvest" around that time. Peter and Tim to liase with this group to take this topic as our theme. Gifts are to be collected for Belarus.
Christmas - Late Night Shopping will be on Friday 7 December with ACT holding a carol service during the evening. The NCH group have arranged a Christmas Tree Festival to be held within our church buildings from Friday 7 December to Monday 10 December. There will still be our usual stalls and hotdogs.
Date of next meeting will be on Thursday 27 September 2007 at 7:30 pm in The Cornerstone with Rev Tim Morris in the chair.

A Methodist Diaconal Order meditation taken from
The Feast of Remembrance and Praise.

We acknowledge our God and we wait;
we are still, we are silent, and we wait.

We wait for the sounds of God and the sounds of the sacrament:
the breaking of the bread and the gushing of the wine
the pain of sorrow and the pulse of hope
the echo of our name and the bread in our teeth
a cup on our lips and breathing at our side
as we wait for the sounds of God
the breaking of the bread and the gushing of the wine.

We hear sounds in the distance: the vibration of human lives
the crackle of fear and the murmur of distrust
the scramble for rice and the tearing of garbage
the shuffle of withered limbs and the sight of rich tourists
the growl of empty bodies and the splash of spent blood
the breaking of bread and the gushing of wine.

We hear the snarl of a bullet and the snap of a trigger
the sudden yell of unseen mines, the cough of smoking ruins
the whisper of desolation and the silence of a lifeless field
the breaking of the bread and the gushing of the wine.

We hear the bleating of the lamb and the breaking of the womb
the death of the lamb and the breaking of the tomb
a word that was healing and a God that was feeling
in the breaking of the bread and the gushing of the wine.

And we listen for the bursting of joy and the bubble of children's faces
and the dancing of willows and the surprise of open lives
the shout of mountains and the laughter of a second birth
the leap of our spirit and the swirl of celebration
in the breaking of the bread and the gushing of the wine.
Sister Merle Wilde

PROFILE - Rev Dr Martyn Atkins
President of Conference 2007/2008

In its new President the Methodist Church will discover that it has appointed someone who will offer both encouragement and challenge. The Rev Dr
Martyn Atkins is not one to mince his words and has frequently expressed candid and sometimes trenchant views about the bleak future facing a Church which
refuses to make some radical decisions and grasp some well-rooted nettles.He believes that without a commitment to seek and follow God's agenda for mission and to allow that to shape the Church in every respect, the writing is clearly on the wall.

He is a frequent contributor to conferences and seminars in the UK and around the world, in Methodism and beyond, and is highly regarded not only for this academic astuteness but also his sheer passion for the Gospel and the need to communicate faith today.
Methodism is in Martyn's blood and he has both received from and given to his native Church in equal measures. Nurtured by his parents in West Yorkshire Methodism, it was in that environment that he came to faith. Through the lively youth fellowship at Otley church he grew as a young Christian. The young Atkins played guitar with a Christian Rock band and was involved in outreach on the streets of Bradford.

Martyn looks back in fondness to training at Hartley Victoria College
followed by appointments in Leeds, Shipley and Bingley. During this time he obtained his Ph D from Manchester University. He followed this by serving on the Faith and Order Committee and served on the working party which produced The Methodist Worship Book.
Later he became the Chaplain and Head of Religious Studies at Edgehill
College in Devon and for the last 11 years has been on the staff at Cliff
College.
Martyn is married to Helen and they have three sons. His only lost cause is being a supporter of Leeds United Football team.. An encyclopaedic knowledge of pop music, guitars, sport, cooking, cars and theology makes him a great asset to any quiz team.

Acknowledgement to Ian Bell and the Methodist Recorder .

PROFILE - Ruby Beech Vice President 2007/2008

Ruby Beech began her life in Clipstone North Nottinghamshire and it was at Cliff College in 1971 that Ruby came to faith. Along with her friends in Mansfield Ruby got involved with beach missions on the East coast and spent her summers sharing with
children on the beach. Moving to Birmingham and then to Nuneaton with husband Pete they became Youth leaders at Coton Church and went through the rounds well known to Youth workers with sleepovers, trips to Cliff
College, MAYC weekends and Greenbelt.
Ruby became a local preacher in 1982 and is very passionate about women's and minority groups.

Ruby's life has been full of ups and downs; one of the downs was when Pete died. Ruby has since married Garry in 1994.

Garry and Ruby live on the edge of London and she works in the city. Her background is in personnel working over the years at various organisations including Peugeot, YMCA, YWCA, Birmingham and Coventry City
Councils and as Co-ordinating Secretary for Human and Financial Resources for the Methodist Church. She is now an Assistant Serjeant-at-Arms in the House of Commons.

We look forward to meeting Ruby during her year of office especially as she is a local lass who has "done good"

Acknowledgement Jane Measures and Methodist Recorder

News from around the Connexion

SUPPORTING FARMERS THROUGH QUARANTINE SITUATIONS

Quarantine situations is an ugly way of referring to those occasions when a disease like Foot and Mouth or Bird 'Flu strikes. A cull is ordered and those whose farms are involved become isolated and often distressed and those in rural ministry are excluded from making a pastoral visit.

The Churches' Rural Group is holding a very timely half-day conference
entitled 'Responding Pastorally to Quarantine Situations'. This is aimed at anyone engaged in rural ministry (lay or ordained).include a farmer who was 'taken out' at the last outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease, and a senior DEFRA vet.

One of the sessions - 'Responding to Crises', will be led by the Farm Crisis Network.FCN is an ecumenical Christian organisation that supports members of the farming community, wherever the need.Bird 'Flu struck Bernard Matthews' turkeys, FCN was quick to liaise with the Diocese of East Anglia in the care of many Portuguese workers who were laid off.has accumulated wisdom to share with Christians and help them make appropriate responses.
The conference will be held at Methodist Church House, London from 12-4pm on 24 October, 2007.Full information and booking form can be found at: http://www.churchesruralgroup.org.uk/conferences

SERVICE - OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE

From Nexus, Manchester
We have just begun meeting as Church in a bar in Manchester city centre. We wanted to leave our comfort zone behind and be where everybody else is. This also makes it more accessible for people to join with us. We begin by catching up with each other, we learn by discussing a theme together and we close with prayers of intercession in which we talk about concerns and issues in our lives. So far, people love it and it has attracted many who have never been to church. I'm looking forward to ordering a bread roll and a glass of red wine for when we do communion! We're hoping it grows so we can start other meetings at different bars on different nights.
Phone contact: The Revd Cris Archer - 0161 236 0100
Email: crispi@lineone.net

 

Charles Wesley - 300 years on: A trumpet voice!
By Dr Herbert McGonigle

Charles Wesley was a classical scholar, an Oxford don, an ordained clergyman, an outstanding hymn-writer - and a passionate evangelist! For 17 years, as a 'Methodist' preacher, he itinerated across the British Isles, preaching the gospel mostly out of doors. In later years his ministry was confined mainly to Bristol and London. Church history tells us about the large crowds that gathered to hear the open-air preaching of his brother John Wesley and the preaching of George Whitefield. Charles' crowds were just as large, the common people loved him dearly and many were converted to Christ under his preaching.
So it is not surprising that the theme of evangelism is very prominent in his hymns. In 1741 he published a collection called 'Hymns on God's Everlasting Love'. One of them had ten stanzas outlining the great truths of the gospel and the joy of proclaiming the Good News.
Let earth and heaven agree
Angels and men be joined
To celebrate with me
The Saviour of mankind.
To adore the all-atoning Lamb
And bless the sound of Jesu's name.
Charles Wesley knew that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ (Acts 2:12), and he emphasised the great work the Saviour had done.
No other help is found
No other name is given
By which we can salvation have
But Jesus came the world to save.
Charles was very skilful at weaving biblical passages into his hymns and in this hymn he used the incident of how the Israelites in the wilderness were stung by scorpions (Numbers 21:6-9). The stricken people were commanded to look at the bronze likeness of a scorpion that Moses had made and all who looked at it were healed. Charles' hymn 'Christianises' this event and speaking of the 'harmonious' name of Jesus that the gospel announces to the sinner, he exclaims:
Stung by the scorpion sin
My poor expiring soul
The balmy sound drinks in
And is at once made whole.
See there my Lord upon the tree,
I hear, I feel He died for me.
Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). His atonement on the cross reconciles us to God and the hymn exults:
O unexampled Love
O all-redeeming Grace!
How freely didst Thou move
To save a fallen race!
On Pentecost Sunday morning, 21 May 1738, Charles Wesley experienced God's salvation and forgiveness of sins. Almost immediately he wanted to tell the good news to others; his evangelical conversion made him an evangelical preacher! In this hymn on the theme of salvation in Christ, he expresses his longing to shout the Good News to the whole world! He wants a trumpet voice!
O for a trumpet voice
On all the world to call
To bid their hearts rejoice
In Him who died for all.
For all my Lord was crucified
For all, for all my Saviour died.
In this tercentenary year of Charles Wesley's birth should we not pray that the Church will be given a 'trumpet voice' to proclaim the gospel to the whole world!

Dates for your Diary

SEPTEMBER
Sat 1st 4.00pm Afternoon Tea with Rev Tim Morris- Century Hall
5.30pm Commissioning of Rev Tim Morris, Ashbourne
Tues 6th 2.15pm Network Meeting at Hulland
Wed 5th 9.30am Walk and Talk
10.00am Alzheimers Café The Cornerstone
Sat 8th 10.00am PRAYER FAIR AMC
Sun 9th 6.30pm Hulland Harvest Festival
Mon 10th 7.30pm Hulland Harvest Festival Sale
Wed 12th 7.30pm Family History Group The Cornerstone
Sat 15th 7.00pm PRAISE! Century Hall
Mon 17th 7.30pm Ashbourne Men's Forum Ashbourne Golf Club
Fri 21st 7.30pm Stanton Harvest Festival Service
Sun 23rd 10.30am Ashbourne Harvest Festival Service
2.30pm Stanton Harvest Festival Service
6.30pm Kirk Ireton Harvest Festival service
Tues 25th 12.30pm Ashbourne Church Lunch
OCTOBER
Wed 3rd 9.30am Walk and Talk
10.0am Alzheimer's Café The Cornerstone
Sun 7th 10.30am Ashbourne JMA Service
10.45am Brailsford Harvest Festival Service
Wed 10th 11.00am District Network Day Darley Dale

Operation Christmas Child

The campaign for this coming autumn has begun in earnest and new leaflets are now available. The shoe box craft group has met throughout the year and will continue to meet on the second Wednesday in each month (next meeting on 12 September in The Cornerstone from 10 am - 11.30 am). Please save your shoe boxes. The shoe boxes will be blessed during the morning service of 18th November and will be checked in the Century Hall on Tuesday 20th November. More information next month.
Betty Hadley
STOP PRESS! A successful Coffee Morning at 36 Derby Road raised £143
for the transport of the shoe boxes to their destination.

Smile Lines

Angels - As Explained by Children
I only know the names of two angels. Hark and Harold. -- Gregory, 5
Everybody's got it all wrong. Angels don't wear halos anymore. I forget
why, but scientists are working on it. -- Olive, 9
It's not easy to become an angel! First, you gotta die. Then you go to heaven, then there's still the flight training to go through. And then you got to agree to wear those angel clothes. -- Matthew, 9
Angels work for God and watch over kids when God has to go do something
else. -- Mitchell, 7
My guardian angel helps me with Maths, but he's not much good for Science.
-- Henry, 8
Angels don't eat, but they drink milk from Holy Cows!!! -- Jack, 6
Angels talk all the way while they're flying you up to heaven. The main subject is where you went wrong before you go dead. -- Daniel, 9
When an angel gets mad, he takes a deep breath and counts to ten. And when he lets out his breath, somewhere there's a tornado. -- Reagan, 10
Angels have a lot to do and they keep very busy. If you lose a tooth, an angel comes in through your window and leaves money under your pillow. Then when it gets cold, angels go south for the winter. -- Sara, 6

Angels live in cloud houses made by God and his son, who's a very good carpenter. -- Jared , 8
All angels are girls because they gotta wear dresses and boys didn't go for it.-- Antonio, 9

From the Editor
Dear Friends, New Minister, new Connexional year and
from next month every edition will be a Circuit edition,
with I hope contributions from all our chapels. Your thoughts, faith stories, anecdotes are welcome - let me know what you think about "Connections".
I hope to publish the next edition on October 7th, copy deadline 26th Sept.
E-mail to ashbournemethodistmagazine@supanet .com post to 2 Hambleton Close DE6 1NG or put in pigeon-hole at AMC Arthur Watts

Quote of the month

Modern prophets write as though God existed by kind permission of man but the prophets of old wrote as though man existed by kind permission of God. Anon

CIRCUIT CHURCH SERVICES

Sunday	Ashboume	10.30am	with young people’s groups. - Becky Dutton (343494)
		6.30pm
	Brailsford	10.30am	on 2nd 3rd 4th Sunday
		10.45am	United service monthly on 1st Sunday
	Hulland	2.30 pm
	Kirk Ireton	6.30pm	monthly on 4th Sunday
	Kniveton	2.30pm	Family service 11am monthly on last Sunday
	Milldale		Special services - see Dates for Your Diary
	Parwich	2.30pm	2nd and 4th Sunday
	Stanton	2.30pm
	Tissington	2.30pm	monthly on 3rd Sunday

ASHBOURNE CHURCH ACTIVITIES

 

Circuit Staff

Rev Tim Morris	Sister Merle Wilde
16 Booth Drive	124 The Green Road
Ashbourne	Ashbourne
DE6 1SZ	DE6 1EE
01335 342408	01335 343793
email: revtimmorris@aol.com

 

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