Prayer for Growth

We above all need to pray in preparation for our planning for growth. This is something we can do in a limited way in our weekly worship.

We can also pray at home. You may use the GAP prayer and think through all the different parts of the life of our churches as you pray.

But it is important also that we make more space for prayer together. It is not easy to do this in our Sunday worship, so there will be four evenings set aside just for prayer, one each week over the four weeks before St John’s GAP Evening and St Peter’s GAP Away Day, .

Each evening is for both parishes, wherever it is held.

Please do not feel you have to come for the whole hour. You may come and go as you please, as you have time, but it would be a great sign of our commitment if nearly everyone could make the time to come to part of at least one evening.

Each evening will include short readings, set prayers, open prayer and music, but with significant silences in between. It will be less structured than our normal services, making it easier to drop in or out at any point.

Dates & Venues, 8-9pm each evening:
Thurs 17 Sept—St Peter’s
Tues 22 Sept—St John’s
Mon 28 Sept—St Peter’s
Wed 7 Oct—St John’s

Growth Action Planning - What it's all about

Over the next 3 months both our churches will be engaged in “Growth Action Planning” (GAP), and we hope that everyone will contribute in some way to help us to discern the way forward. Bishop Peter gives an overview of GAP:

“Growth Action Planning encourages all parishes in the Diocese to ask some very important questions: What should our church be like five years from now? What are the two or three priorities our church should focus upon in the coming year? To begin to answer these questions each church will need to listen very carefully to God in prayer and consult widely with people in the church and beyond.

If a church answers these questions carefully and prayerfully then it will find that it is focused upon important things, the priorities of the church will be godly priorities. You may also find that your church is doing fewer things but doing them better. Through GAP you will find that the quality of your mission and ministry is enhanced.

It is for these reasons that I commend Growth Action Planning to all the churches in the Diocese. My prayer is that you will find through GAP that you can rejoice together in what has been done well and review and adapt the things that do not reach their full potential. And I am hopeful that through GAP you will find you have more time and energy to do well what is truly of God in your parish.”

Above all we should be prayerful as we approach this task. I would encourage you to have this in mind in your prayers on your own, or in homegroups, and in our Sunday worship. You may find the “GAP prayer” helpful:

Lord Jesus Christ, you command and inspire your church to make disciples: may our church become a joyful and vibrant community of welcome, worship and service, spreading hope to those around us and attracting others to the fire of your love; may your Spirit be at work through our Growth Action Planning, helping us to catch a vision for your church and to serve you faithfully, to your glory and honour. Amen

In different ways we will be asking people from both parishes for their thoughts. Find out about the GAP Evening (St John’s) and the GAP Away Day (St Peter’s).

Each of us may think and pray about all this now. What should our priorities be such that our churches may grow? Grow in maturity, and grow in numbers. What are we doing well? What could be done better? What should we stop doing? What should we do that is new, that we have the resources for?

The aim is to establish a small number of clear priorities which are particularly focused on growth. The aim is not to question everything we do as a church. We don’t need to ask whether we should continue to worship, baptise, pray, sing, read Scripture etc. We do need to believe that God’s purpose is the growth of his kingdom, and we therefore must seek to discern how our energy should be directed, that by the help of the Spirit it may bear fruit.

Lent Course

This will be held on the following 5 Wednesdays in Lent:
11 Mar, 18 Mar, 25 Mar, 1 Apr, 8 Apr in St John’s Church Hall, 8-9.30pm.
We will use the “York Course” for this year. The format involves hearing recorded short talks by a range of speakers, followed by discussion.
The title is:
These three... Faith, Hope and Love and is based on the three great qualities celebrated in 1 Corinthians 13. This famous passage begins and ends in majestic prose. But the middle paragraph is practical and demanding. St Paul's thirteen verses take us to the heart of what it means to be a Christian.
The sessions are headed:
1. Believing and Trusting
2. The Peace of God
3. Faith into Love
4. The Greatest of these
5. All shall be well
The speakers are:
Abbot Christopher Jamison, Anne Atkins, Bishop Tom Wright, Professor Frances Young
There is a course booklet for each person which needs to be purchased in advance (£2.99). Please sign the sheet at the back of church or phone Mark if you wish to order.

Remembrance

“The services on the Day of Remembrance were quite well attended, and at the special service at 10.45am I was glad to see some of our ex-service men and women present, though I cannot refrain from expressing my disappointment at not seeing the few who should have been present but were not. How soon some forget what they owe to Almighty God.”
So wrote the Revd Hugh J Allen in the Guilden Sutton “Parish Paper” of December 1946, shortly after his induction on 25 November as the first Rector of the united benefice of Plemstall & Guilden Sutton. Who would have thought that clergy needed to complain about attendance at Remembrance services in 1946? Numbers have certainly declined since. In years past there was standing room only at St Peter’s. May all consider making the effort this year, if they possibly can.

Light Party

As in previous years it is planned that there will be a Light Party for primary school age children in Guilden Sutton Village Hall on the evening of Friday 31 October as an alternative to Hallowe’en. Watch out for publicity and details of tickets.

All Souls' Service

On Sunday 2 November at 6.30pm there will be an All Souls’ service at St John’s Guilden Sutton for both parishes. This is provided as an opportunity to remember loved ones, to hear their names read prayerfully, to light a candle, to give thanks to God for their lives, to look to God for comfort, and to renew our hope found in Jesus Christ. All are welcome, and if help with transport is required, please tel. 300306.

St John's Churchyard

From around the middle of July we will be trying to contact as many people as possible who visit graves at St John’s. Copies of a letter from the Churchwardens and of the Diocesan Regulations for Churchyards will be made available in the church porch. At present many graves have flowerbeds planted, or pots and ornaments spread across. This contravenes the regulations, which we have no local power to vary, and which are there partly to make the maintenance of the churchyard easier. Please collect a copy of the letter and regulations if applicable, and do get in touch if you wish to discuss this further.

St John’s Projection Facilities

A public notice is currently posted at St John’s regarding an application for permission to fit projection equipment. The proposal is to locate a rear projection screen behind the beam nearest to the east wall, not visible from the west when raised and lowered as required by a remotely operated motor. A projector will be located on a portable stand against the east wall when in use. Cabling will be routed to the screen, to the location of the projector, to operation points for a laptop computer and to the sound equipment at the rear of the church. It is proposed also to purchase a large portable rear projection screen for use with the projector/computer in the village hall.

These facilities will be used in a variety of ways: in family and morning praise services for the display of songs and liturgy; for the display of background images; for sermon illustration where appropriate; during holiday club; for school services in church; for other occasional events, courses, visiting speakers. It will take a little time to learn to use the equipment effectively, and we are not unaware of the danger of overuse and distraction, however, the PCC are agreed that this will be of valuable service in our worship. It is estimated that the total cost will be around £8500. Any questions and comments are welcome, and the plans are available for viewing in St John’s church.

Open Farm Sunday – Thanksgiving Service

1 June is “Open Farm Sunday” and The Grange, Warrington Rd, Mickle Trafford will be open from 10am to 4pm. A short service of thanksgiving will be held in the barn at 1pm. There will be guided farm tours when you will be able to see the rare breed Red Poll cattle with their young calves, as well as the three bulls, Larry, Gus and Bernie. You will be able to see the environmental stewardship work, including hedge laying and traditional willow tree management in the form of coppicing. There will be guided tours of the Grade II listed Mickle Trafford Water Mill during the day. There will be a formal opening of the new permissive footpath and bridleway network.
Everyone is welcome – do come along and join in with the service of thanksgiving.

St John’s Sunday Club

The following report was given at the recent annual meeting:
Sunday Club meets in the Church Hall at every 9.30am service during term time before joining communion at the end of the service. During the last year, 27 children have attended, with approx. 18 regularly.

Every session starts with time together – playing a game, singing and prayer time. This last term we've been starting to learn the Lord's Prayer. The children then split in to three groups following Scripture Union material: 3-5s “Bubbles” - Lesley; 6-8s “Splash” – Ruth; 9-11s “Xtreme” – Dave. We are very grateful to our young helpers Grace, Emma and Matthew who organise the game for us and are a great help during the craft activities. We are also grateful to Karen who looks after Rebecca for Dave & Lesley to allow them to run their groups.

At Christmas, as part of the Christmas Praise Service in the Village Hall, we performed “Whoops-A-Daisy-Angel” which the children all enjoyed doing and we hope the congregation enjoyed it too. We have learned a number of new action songs which we have introduced to the Village Hall Family Services.

We are keen to attract more children to Sunday Club, particularly some more boys. We would also be keen to attract some more leaders to help to share the work as the sessions involve a lot of preparation, particularly the craft activities.
Lesley, Dave & Ruth

Agnostics Anonymous

At the moment, the disciple Thomas is in my mind, in preparation for Sunday’s sermon. It is most unfair that he is called “doubting Thomas”. He did doubt, but he also believed, and on his lips is the most faithful response to the risen Jesus: “My Lord and my God”.

Which person of faith has never had a shred of doubt about any aspect of the faith? Only someone whose faith has never been tested, or who has never exercised any search for understanding. While doubt is not to be sought after as a virtue, in the experience of many it is the route to a stronger and deeper faith in God.

I have for some time thought that it may be helpful to provide space for a kind of “Agnostics Anonymous” group. It would be open to anyone, certainly not just Christians. “Agnostic” can have the precise meaning of someone who claims with certainty that it is not possible to know that God exists. It can also have a broader meaning, of someone who is not a “Gnostic”, someone who does not claim a direct line to all truth.

I would hope that such a group could bring together people who, whilst each having some firm beliefs, would be able respectfully to listen and contribute, and be open to fresh insights and understanding as a result of such a process. The focus would be on the ultimate questions of life, but the agenda and format would be set by the group, not by me.

At present this is just a thought, so please let me know if you may be interested.

Timber Treatment - St Peter's

A survey has been made of the woodwork inside St Peter’s church, revealing the presence of death watch beetle (Xestobium rufovillosum) and common furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum) in numerous places, in the screens and panelling. It is impossible ever to eradicate completely such problems in a building of this age with so much timber, but it is necessary, as the current stewards of the building, that we do our part to keep things under control. It is therefore necessary for a programme of work to begin immediately after Easter, requiring the church to be closed for 3 or 4 Sundays.

The list of services indicates the arrangements. On 30 March, the Sunday after Easter, there will be a joint service at St John’s Guilden Sutton at 9.30am. On the following Sundays, 6 April and 13 April, and possibly on 20 April, the services will be held in Mickle Trafford Village Hall.

The work will cost around £4-5000. Any contributions would be most welcome!

40th Anniversary

Today, Wednesday 9 January, the Plemstall Fellowship celebrated its 40th anniversary. About 30 ladies were present. Pictured are Mrs Johnson and Mrs Hughes, who are both founder members, cutting the cakes made my Mrs Gill Jones. The fellowship meets monthly and is still very well supported, and led by a committed team.

Lent Talks

In previous years during Lent we have run a course composed mainly of group discussion. This year we have arranged a series of substantial talks by four different people with opportunity for questions after each one.

The Psalms have been the hymns of the church down the centuries but are now often neglected. These talks are designed to help us to know how to use the Psalms in our worship and private prayer.

The talks will all be held on Wednesday evenings at St Peter’s Plemstall, starting at 8pm and ending at 9.30pm.

20 February – Reading the Psalms – How are they written? Why were they written? How should we read this kind of poetry?
Mr John Scrivener (General Synod member and Plemstall PCC Secretary)

27 February – Hearing the Psalms – How can God speak to us through the Psalms?
The Ven Donald Allister (Archdeacon of Chester)

5 March – Praying the Psalms – How can Christians pray with the Psalms today?
The Rt Revd Alan Chesters (former Bishop of Blackburn)

12 March – Singing the Psalms – How have the Psalms been sung? How can we learn to sing them now? This evening may include practical exercises!
Mr David Poulter (formerly Director of Music at Chester Cathedral, now Director of Music at Liverpool Cathedral)

Who's this?

See & Know Christmas party today. Father Christmas visited, as usual. Does he look familiar? Did you wonder what he did when the grass stopped growing?

Advent Prayer

During the season of Advent there will be prayer on the following occasions:
Monday 3,10,17 December – Evening Prayer, 5pm, St Peter’s
Tuesday 4,11,18 December – Compline, 8pm, St John’s
Wednesday 5,12,19 December – Morning Prayer, 7.30am, St John’s
Thursday 6,13,20 December – Morning Prayer, 9.30am, St Peter’s
Recently we were reminded of the parable of the importunate widow (Luke 18) which Jesus told to teach us that we “ought always to pray and not lose heart”. These prayer times are opportunities for us to listen to God and to wait on him to act. Please consider whether you can come along on at least one occasion. That way the services will be well supported and we will be able to express the strength of our desire for God’s kingdom to grow.

Support for Missions & Charities

In 2007 St Peter’s Plemstall PCC have donated the following:
£280 USPG: Anglicans in World Mission
£280 The Bible Society
£280 Chester Clergy Family Trust
£280 The Church Army
£280 Adoption Matters
£280 The South American Mission Society
£280 Churches Action on Substance Misuse
£280 Church Pastoral Aid Society
£680 Save the Family
£280 The Children’s Society
£680 Chester Aid to the Homeless
£280 The Barnabas Fund
£280 The Church Mission Society
£280 Christian Aid
£280 Chester Schools Christian Work
£200 Chester Cathedral Choir
In 2007 St John’s Guilden Sutton PCC have donated the following:
£200 Church Pastoral Aid Society
£200 The Bible Society
£200 The South American Mission Society
£200 The Church Mission Society
£350 Chester Schools Christian Work
£1250 Interserve
£200 Scripture Union
£200 Lifewords
Information on many of these agencies is regularly placed at the back of the churches. Also, links to their websites may be found here. It is thanks to the generosity of church members that we are able to continue this level of support for the wider church and for other charities, which is a vital part of our mission.

Visiting Preachers

On 18 November the preacher at both services will be The Revd Ian Arch, Chaplain of Chester University. On 25 November the preacher at both services will be The Revd Canon Christopher Burkett, Residentiary Canon of Chester Cathedral and Chaplain to the Bishop of Chester.

Light Party

A Light Party will be held on Wed 31 Oct, 6.30-8pm in Guilden Sutton Village Hall, tickets £2 for all primary school age children. Parents / toddlers free. Come as a family.

All Souls' Service

On Sunday 4 November at 6.30pm there will be an All Souls’ service at St Peter’s Plemstall for both parishes. This is provided as an opportunity to remember loved ones, to hear their names read prayerfully, to light a candle, to give thanks to God for their lives, to look to God for comfort, and to hear the hope found in Jesus Christ. All are welcome, and if help with transport is required, please tel. 300306.

Uganda Gap Year Report

Caroline Brindle has now returned from Uganda and begun university. Look here for a report on her experiences.

Back to Church Sunday

In June we published an article by Donald Allister on Back to Church Sunday (here on diocesan website), an initiative which has proved successful in other dioceses and will be widely used in parishes in Chester Diocese on 30 September. It is simply a Sunday when there will be a particular focus on inviting people to church, especially personal invitations to people who perhaps used to attend in the past. Coming back to church can be a difficult step to take. An invitation, someone to go with, and knowing that others will on that day be taking the same step, can all make it easier. See the service diary for times on 30 September. Everyone is very welcome to attend, as at any service. Please consider whom you may invite and use the invitations which are available at the back of each church.

Disabled Access - St John's

The buildings committee of St John’s PCC are actively exploring options for how to improve access to the church, both externally and internally, for persons with disability. This is a difficult process as there is no realistic solution which provides the standard of access normally required. We are in discussion with our architect and disability advisers in order to assess the advantages and costs of different approaches. We will consult with parishioners in due course and would welcome feedback at any time on this matter. The committee is chaired by Peter Reid (Churchwarden). Other members are: Joan Emerton, David Everton, Mark Hart, David Hudson and Richard Worth.

Breakfast Before 7 October Family Service

After the success of the breakfast before June's Family Service (ask those who came), we are going to do it again in October before the Harvest Family Service! It's served from 9.45-10.30am in the Marigold Room, so that you can come straight into the service afterwards. It's a good chance to get to know each other better and one less thing to do in the Sunday morning rush. A full cooked breakfast as well as lighter options are available with just a donation to help cover costs (any surplus goes to church funds). We hope even more can make it this time and it will become a regular part of the calendar. It is helpful to get a reasonable idea of numbers beforehand, so please fill in the form at the back of church, or let us know by phone, but don't let that stop you just turning up on the day or bringing friends along. Remember it's all done by the "men of the parish"!

Confirmation Service

Please note that on Sunday 23 September there will be just one service at 10.30am at St Peter’s Plemstall, a confirmation service with holy communion. This will be led by the Rt Revd Keith Sinclair, Bishop of Birkenhead, his first visit to our parishes.

Re-Decoration - St John's

Many thanks to those who helped with the painting of the walls of St John’s, especially Dave & Chris Everton who did the bulk of the work. The area which had been affected by damp in the South-East corner is now looking in good shape and the whole church looks cleaner and brighter. The East wall, previously in light blue, is now magnolia, matching the other walls.

Holiday Club Week Begins...

The Pyramid Rock holiday club began today in Guilden Sutton Village Hall. 85 children came along, the weather stayed fine, and everything got off to a great start. We're learning about how God was at work in the life of Joseph and his family for the blessing of the whole world.
p.s. Many thanks to all who helped to make the holiday club such a great success. The main responsibility was carried by Pauline Holgate, Simon Langmead and Peter Walker, and a huge effort was put in by the whole team and numerous others who have supported in various ways. The weather was brilliant and the children, about 90 each day, thoroughly enjoyed the event.

Parish Weekend Away

A booking has been made for a parish weekend away at Cloverley Hall for 17-19 October 2008. Please make a note of this now! Further details will be available in due course. Cloverley Hall lies midway between Whitchurch and Market Drayton, about 5 miles from each.