Dear Church Friends,
Hello. How are you? On Monday, Jim and Zoe, along with Geoffrey their large dog, held a delicious ‘Afternoon Tea’ in their garden on a beautiful sunny, somewhat windy afternoon. Thank you both for inviting everyone to join you and meet people from other churches in the Partnership. It was a happy afternoon and the White Church was well represented. Janet will be holding a similar event on 14th August when you will have another opportunity to meet fellow URC members.
The weeks are passing and we are now into August. In the greenhouse the tomatoes, snack peppers and mini-cucumbers are ripening and keeping us supplied, and outside we are gathering the first courgettes and have picked a few dwarf beans. It’s such a joy when crops flourish as I have had several failures, mainly with seeds not germinating, but like the spider in Robert the Bruce’s cave, I will try and try again, although the commercially produced plants I bought seem to thrive better than those I grew from seed!
This week I have been reading about an interesting lady called Cecil Frances Alexander, who was inspired by the Apostle’s Creed to write some hymns for children to try and explain it to them. The opening lines of the creed moved her to write “All things Bright and Beautiful”, the part about Jesus’s conception prompted “Once in Royal David’s City” and the part about Christ’s crucifixion led to “There is a Green Hill Far Away.” Although she is well-known for writing over 400 hymns, she is less well-known for her charity work. She believed in the Victorian tradition of helping the poor and disadvantaged. She was born in Ireland over 200 years ago in 1818 and, together with her sister Anne, became involved in church activities, including visits to local families. On one occasion they met a small deaf boy from a poor home. They were concerned about what sort of a future he faced and the fact they he was unable to hear about the Love of God and the Christian way of life. The sisters set up a small school of 4 or 5 deaf children in a building in the grounds of their house. From this tiny acorn came a mighty oak, as subsequently money from the sale of her hymns helped to provide the funds to build an Institute for the Deaf and Dumb. This inspired work by Frances made a significant contribution to the development of education for the deaf in Ireland.
Words to ponder on.
The more you give,
The more you get.
The more you do unselfishly
The more you live abundantly.
The more of everything you share,
The more you laugh, the less you fret.
The more you love, the more you’ll find,
That life is good and friends are kind.
We can learn a great deal from the story of Noah’s Ark. It’s got all the things needed to help us make the most of life.
One: Don’t miss the boat!
Two : Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the vessel.
Three: Remember that we are all in the same boat.
Praise in the Park – Service and Walk – Sunday 22nd August
The latest news is that the Praise in the Park Walk and Service on Sunday 22nd August is going ahead! Churches Together in St Annes are supporting the event and they hope that the Churches of Lytham and Ansdell will also support it.
The walk from Lytham will leave from the Promenade near Lytham Lifeboat station at 2.45 pm and the walk from St Annes will leave from near St Annes Pier at 3.00 pm. You are welcome to join in with any or all of the walk from your local area. The two groups will meet up and the service will take place at Fairhaven Lake at 4.00 pm at the usual place near the Spitfire (former tennis court grassed area with a hedge) and will last about 30 minutes.
Our Worship on Sunday 8th August at 10.45am will be led by Richard Golding.
Our Worship on Sunday 15th August at 10.45am will be led by Rev Janet Calderley
You are invited to Afternoon Tea on Saturday 14th August 2pm – 4pm
at Janet’s Manse,12 Normoss Road,, Poulton le Fylde, Blackpool. FY3 0A
No need to book – just turn up. Please bring a folding chair with you.
I AM Bible Study Sessions
I AM – A Bible study in 8 sessions at 4 locations: Hambleton URC Monday 7pm starting on 4/10/21; Poulton URC Wednesday 7pm starting on 6/10.21; Fleetwood URC Thursday 2pm starting on 7/10/21; Fairhaven URC Friday 2pm starting on 8/10/21. Contact Rev Jim on 07484221809 for further details. Jim encourages people to move around the various locations and meet new people.
Let us pray
Dear Lord Jesus, Loving God, be with us all as we come to the start of another week. Help us to remember that You carry us in our times of greatest need. Thank you for your strength, love and compassion. Amen
Please join me in saying the Grace together.
May the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and evermore. Amen
God Bless you all
Ruth
