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Old Rectory – half way point update

Thank you to the people who have given so far in this final push. Remember – we can’t do this without your help.

We have 2 weeks left until we hope to sign the contract with the builder. Please do prayerfully consider your gift and be reassured that no gift is too small. More information and a giving form is available in all services, or contact Martin Lambert.

We send our love and prayers to Claire Clench, whose mother died on 30th September.  And also to the family and friends of Rae Taylor, who passed away very peacefully on 19th October.

The funeral service for Dick Higgins will be on Friday 27th October at 4.00pm, to which all friends are welcome. This will be preceded by a committal at the crematorium. After the church service, there will be refreshments at Glennie. Everyone is warmly invited and anyone is welcome to turn up at the last minute, but if people know they are likely to be there, it would be really helpful to know in advance, for catering purposes. Please send replies to Anne at allthetates@gmail.com.

Catherine McBride writes…
Thank you so much for all your prayers and good wishes as I leave Busbridge&Hambledon Church to move to be Vicar at St Mary’s, Market Drayton. Thank you, too, for your amazingly generous gift, which was truly humbling. This has been a great benefice to work in: a fantastic team, an exciting vision and a loving family. God has done some exciting things here and I’m sure he has plenty in store yet. The church office has my new address and details; if you are ever passing through Shropshire do look me up. Every blessing, Catherine.

Jingle&Mingle!
Tickets for this fab and festive Christmas craft event for the ladies on Wednesday 29th November are now on sale! They are selling fast so book yours asap – who could you bring? Tickets start at just £5. More information on www.bhcgodalming.org/jinglemingle or call Karen Kinder at the church office. We need some bits and bobs for crafts if you have them (1) any late Hydrangea blooms (2) can any handy folk cut us some slices of wood?; 9cm in diameter, just under a centimetre thick with bark around the outside (we need about 200!) and lastly (3) some small white buttons. Please drop any donations of these items to the church office asap.

Light Party
Are you 4-11 years old? Do you want to be happy instead of scared on the 31st October? Yes? Then we have the perfect place for you. Come along to celebrate our Let it Glow – Light Party and join us for fun, games and a silent disco! It’s £2 on the door per child. Book your ticket online as spaces will go. Parents go free (you’ll need to stay for the party). Children, get your parents to sign up now!  31st October 4-6pm at Busbridge Church. Go to www.bhcgodalming.org/light-party. We hope to see you there. For more information email becky.bradley@bhcgodalming.org.

Hambledon Ladies Breakfast
The next event is happening onSaturday 4th November, 8.30am at West Surrey Golf Club. Our Speakers are Chris and Denise Arthey. Tickets are £9 and available from Hambledon Village Shop.

News
As we wish our verger at Busbridge, Simon Marriage, farewell (he is also leaving the infant school where he is caretaker) we are delighted to announce that Ben Rogers has accepted the role of verger for Busbridge Church. Congratulations, Ben.

Thanks to everyone for their generosity in donations for the foodbank for Harvest.

Catherine McBride Licensing
Catherine’s licensing service at St Mary’s, Market Drayton will be at 7pm on 22nd November. If you would like to attend to support Catherine, please let Alan Harvey know as soon as possible, as he is coordinating arrangements. The kind people there are offering some accommodation; equally if you would prefer to make your own plans for B&B that is fine. There is no coach on offer. Instead, people are largely making their own way: if you do need a lift, let Alan know, and he will sort something out. Please note, this is not an event where you can just turn up! The churchwardens there have asked for details well in advance and Alan is liaising with them, so as to allow for a seating plan, etc. The absolute deadline for letting Alan know of your plans is close on Monday 30th October. alan.harvey@bhcgodalming.org or 01483 423264.

Gill and Rog Matthews thank everyone for all the good wishes they received from Catherine and the whole congregation at their last service at Hambledon in September. “Thanks to everyone also for the gifts of cards, flowers, local gin and the generous John Lewis voucher. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to serve with everyone at St Peter’s and we hope it remains forever the very special place it has been for us for the past eighteen years. We are making St Jude’s, Southsea our new church home and have already joined a local house group but the children’s craft materials and guitar remain in their respective boxes and case – for now.”

Note: If anyone needs to use the hoover from the Church centre in either the Church or old rectory, can you please make sure you return it to the centre when you’ve finished?

please pray for…
· The final fundraising push for Old Rectory
· The families of Dick Higgins, Ann Sheldrake and Rae Taylor
· Claire Clench and family
· Catherine McBride as she prepares to move to Market Drayton
· Local Schools and the work of Trinity Trust
· Pullman Lane and their road stewards, Kate Brockman and Kate Kaye
· Thorncombe Street and Markwick Lane

If it’s true that seeing is believing, I wonder what some of the things might be that you believe because you have seen them with your own eyes.  Maybe you were not sure, but once you have actually seen them, you are convinced.  The Pyramids, perhaps … the Taj Mahal … Angkor Wat …

At a more mundane level, perhaps a child tells you that they have tidied their room and you think “A likely story!”   But when you check, they have!  Seeing really is believing.

Jesus has already appeared to Mary, but – as a woman in those times – she is not considered a reliable witness.  Now the disciples have an appearance of their own; so it is true after all.  For them, too, seeing is believing.  But Thomas is not there and he is sceptical when he hears their story.  He wants a slice of the action; he needs to see Jesus for himself.

Graciously, Jesus appears again and Thomas’ need for tangible proof is dispelled.  Amongst other things, I think that Thomas’ experience is meant to be an encouragement to us.  We are not eye-witnesses (born too late!) but we can depend on the testimony and witness of those who were there.

Thomas is the first person in John’s gospel to look Jesus in the eye and say: “My Lord and my God!” 

John’s primary aim is to point each one of us towards Jesus, as the Son of God.  Has he succeeded, or has he wasted his time?

Today the theme is Jesus the prayer partner – the heading of John 17 : 20 – 26 is ‘Jesus prays for all believers’

Where are you with prayer – and discovering how prayer can make a difference? Writing things down to share with others can sometimes help.  In the National gallery book ‘The art of worship’, in a section on ‘church’, the Rev Nicholas Holtam describes the prayer board in St Martins in the Fields. He writes: 

“In praying for the particular we pray for the universal. The intercessions board may provide us with requests for prayers for people to find jobs, for people who are sick, for someone longing to find love, or in thanksgiving for friends who have died”.

We have our own prayer boards at the back of both Busbridge & Hambledon churches, with blank cards available to add your own prayer requests. On anything! Do feel free to use them to write your own. Every Wednesday at 9.00 in Busbridge and on Thursday at 9.00 in Hambledon, a number get together over half an hour to read God’s word and bring before Him not only the needs of the world, but also those requests mentioned on the prayer cards.  There is something quite special about praying alongside fellow believers and hearing God speak his peace into the situations we bring before Him. All are most welcome to come along and join in.

For the first time this year more than ten gardens and allotments in Busbridge were opened to the public on the same weekend. It was in aid of The Cellar Café and Cancer Research and it was a major success. We had 474 visitors contributing more than £3,250.

The weather was kind to us and there seemed to be an especially friendly atmosphere as people walked from one garden to another. Everyone seemed to enjoy seeing the beautiful summer flowers and the creative garden designs.

The seasons have now moved on from summer fruit and flowers to apples, pears, carrots beetroot and parsnips. We all enjoy this diversity and it seems strange to find that so many young children do not know where vegetables and flowers come from. So that in turn begs the question, whose job is it to teach them; is it the schools or the parents or someone else? It seems that because no one takes responsibility the whole matter gets kicked into the long grass.

Now if the children do not know how flowers, fruit and vegetables grow how can they possibly know about the loving creator God who is the source of all this beauty and abundance?

I believe that God wants us all to enjoy this harvest time and He takes pleasure in our enjoyment and thanksgiving for all His gifts.

It may not be our job to teach children how fruit, flowers and vegetables grow but it is our responsibility to make sure that we pass on to the next generation the knowledge of where all the blessing of Harvest comes from. It is not an easy task in this technologically savvy world but that’s the job we have been given and we have to make sure that we do not kick it into the long grass.

We send our love and congratulations to Matt and Holly Swarbrick, whose daughter, Orla, was born on Saturday 23 September.  All well!

Old Rectory update
A huge amount of behind the scenes planning has been going on over the summer for our Old Rectory and Church Cottage renovations. A preferred building company has been identified and the PCC will be meeting on 2nd October  to take a final look at the plans. With your amazing generosity and sacrifice we have raised over £1,900,000. We will be approaching the church at the end of October with a special, final gift day. The response will shape exactly what ministry we can develop now – our goal is to create ministry space such as the youth base, welcoming rooms and space for discipleship, training, home group meetings, pastoral care, toddlers, the ABC service and so much more. The Church Centre conversion is not currently part of this plan but if sufficient is raised now, we can bring the pastoral centre drop-in space there into existence earlier…we have raised over 90% of what we need, so close to the finish line!

You don’t have to be techie…
To run the tech at Busbridge Church – full training will be given and we are quite frankly, desperate to get some new bodies involved. If you’d like to do this once a month, please contact liz.gorst@bhcgodalming.org or have a chat to Tim Davies. (Note: Pathfinders and Ichthus volunteers welcome too).

Harvest today!
We will be donating gifts to the Godalming Food Bank and Farncombe Day Centre this year at Harvest and remembering those who are less fortunate than ourselves. If you haven’t managed to bring your gift today, please drop it into church sometime during the week. Toiletries, nappies etc and cleaning items are particularly useful. Also, look out for gift envelopes for the Bible Society who are speaking in services today.

Calling All Men – HOLD THE DATE – Friday 27th October 7.30pm to 9.30pm
Men Matters proudly present An Evening With David Mace: From Tanks To Tonga. This will be a ticket-only event in the Church Centre with a chilli & beer supper provided (no charge but donations welcome), followed by insights and observations drawn from David’s eight decades studying, serving and working around the world. Put the date in your diaries now – details of how to book will follow…

befriending
Did you know that Busbridge&Hambledon Church run a befriending service known as the Befriending Network? It’s one way that as a church we are responding to an increasingly recognised social issue – that of isolation and loneliness amongst older people. We are currently supporting over 20 people through this scheme and many more through groups such as Prime Time.  We have an ever-growing waiting list of people in need of a regular visitor. Could this be a role that you could take on? Unlike many volunteering opportunities within the church, this role does not ask you to talk about your faith or where you are in your own journey with God. This role plays to other strengths and personal qualities; if you follow a football team, could you sit and talk over the weekend football results with an elderly gentleman who shares your passion for the beautiful game? Maybe the Great British Bake Off or Strictly are more your thing and you love nothing more than reviewing the unexpected highlights and dramas with a fellow enthusiast – if so, we have like-minded people who would love to sit down and chat with you! No previous experience is necessary and you’ll be supported every step of the way by Penny and the team. We’re running an information evening at 7.30pm on Monday 9th October in the Church Centre at Busbridge. Why not come along and find out more? For further details contact Penny Naylor at the Church Office or email: penny.naylor@bhcgodalming.org.

Nexus
On Thursday 5th October, John Peddie will talk to us about the work of ASCT – Asian Students Christian Trust (now Children of the Dump – Manila). John is a trustee of ASCT and also runs a media production company. Last year he went to Manila to make a video to promote the work ASCT does with the extremely poor families who scrape a living by scavenging from the huge rubbish dump on the outskirts of Manila. You will be moved by the plight of these young ‘children of the dump’. Do come along, see the presentation and find out more! The meeting will start at 8.00pm in the Busbridge Church Centre, and we’ll have drinks and nibbles and time for a chat before John starts his talk. All are very welcome, including men!

Marvellous movie matinee: One for the Grown-ups!
Saturday 7th October, 2.30pm at Busbridge Church. No charge but bring a cushion to watch this Billy Connolly, Maggie Smith music loving classic.

An SOS for new Welcomers to come forward to join a once a month slot, on the 6.30 rota please Qualifications .…a friendly smiley face that helps regular attenders, and newcomers, feel valued and welcomed! Many thanks to a number of Welcomers who have had to step down due to having babies, or moving away, who have done a great job in this role. If you are interested, please let Janet Harvey know. Looking forward to hearing from you!

please pray for…
· The Swarbrick family
· Ockford Ridge Food Bank and those it helps
· Our Harvest gift day and food bank collection
· The families of Michael Barrett, Brian Phillips, Flossie Lewer and Barbara Lockhart
· Phillips Close and their road steward, Keith Harper
· The Paddock, Malthouse Lane and St Dominic’s School

Where do I belong?

Over the last ten years I have lived in five different towns and cities around the country and so when people ask me where I’m from I struggle to give a short answer. It has led to a strange sense of where ‘home’ is for me. I’ve recently met people who have lived in this area for over 50 years and sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have lived in the same place for that amount of time.

As a country, where we belong and how we fit into the international community is being reimagined as our politicians negotiate our exit from the European Union. More urgently there are 65.6 million people globally who have been forcibly displaced and have lost their homes.

So where do I belong? Where do we belong? Where do those who have lost their homes belong?

Paul writes in Ephesians that ‘you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people’ and in Philippians that ‘our citizenship is in heaven.’

So what might that mean for me with my fluid sense of home? What might that mean for you if you have lived in the same place for many years? What about us as a country? What about refugees and asylum seekers?

What difference might it make in our lives if we thought of ourselves and others as citizens of heaven?

We have been deeply saddened this week to learn of the deaths of three people connected with our church family: Brian Phillips (Dave’s father), Flossie Lewer (former 8 o’clocker and lifelong member of Busbridge Church), and Barbara Lockhart (a faithful Prime Time member).  We send our love and prayers to Dave, Kate, Daisy, Mimi and Lily, as well to Dave’s mother, Ruth and to Mary Phillips; to Brian, Flossie’s nephew; and to Barbara’s daughter, Angela and family; and Nick, Barbara’s brother. Also, a reminder of funeral details for Michael Barrett: 11.00am on Tuesday 26th September at Busbridge Church followed by a committal at the crematorium. All friends warmly invited. We pray for God’s comfort and peace to surround all who mourn.

Memorial Service
Saturday 14th October 2017 at 3.00pm
We shall be holding our annual Memorial Service in October and this is an open invitation to all who may wish to come.
If you have been bereaved within the last two years, you will receive a personal letter of invitation. However, we want to spread the net of welcome as widely as possible and extra letters are available at the back of both churches nearer the time. We hope that anyone who has been bereaved, however long ago, will feel able to join us for this special occasion.  We shall also be delighted to welcome any family members or friends who might like to come with you. Margot Spencer

Thank you to the couple who have expressed interest in running the baptism course (two evenings, 3-4 times a year). We’d love to have a couple of others to support this welcome and introduction to faith ministry. Speak to Simon or Dave Preece. Simon mentioned at Busbridge last Sunday that we’re still looking for a few people for the important fortnightly Strictly Pathfinders ministry; if this could be you please speak to James or Simon.

Busbridge Church 150th Anniversary in 150 objects
Saturday 21st October 10:30am – 4pm
Sunday 22nd October 12:30pm – 4pm
A once in a lifetime occasion bringing together objects which tell the story of 150 years of Busbridge Church: the place, the heritage, the people. Bring along your own items: photos, letters or objects and see how they fit into the story alongside rarely seen church artefacts and photos. Find out more about the people of Busbridge over 150 years! A trail activity for children and refreshments available. How can you get involved? Look through your attics, garages and photo albums – do you have anything we could use in the display? Come along for an hour to help welcome visitors or serve refreshments…bring family and friends as part of the weekend…help us identify individuals in photographs…document your own memories and anecdotes…make a cake/biscuits for refreshments. For further information, to offer help and to let us know what you have found please contact Janine Bailey 150th@bhcgodalming.org 

Simon Marriage, Verger, retires 20th October.  We give thanks for his 30 years of faithful service. The search for his successor continues. If you are interested to learn more please contact the Wardens, Keith or Frances.

Classic Service needs more welcomers, on a casual or fixed Sunday basis. It’s a great way to meet people and is very enjoyable. If you are able to welcome, even if it’s not very often please see Debbie Scott or contact on 07769752216 or email deborahnicolescott@outlook.com

Catherine leaving
Catherine McBride’s last services before leaving for Shropshire will be at Busbridge at 6.30pm on 8th October, and at the 9.00 and 10.30 on 15th October at Hambledon.

· There will be an opportunity to say farewell over a cake/nibbles and drink in Busbridge church after the 6.30 on 8th (with a follow on at Inn on the Lake for those interested!)

· There will be a tea party at Feathercombe, Feathercombe Lane (GU8 4DP), at 3.30pm on 15th. With numbers limited, tickets are required for this – available from the churchwardens.

· Catherine will also be at the Merry Harriers on the evening of 12th October if you happen to be passing by, from 7.45pm.

Please note the restriction on numbers at Feathercombe – you may wish to join the alternative gatherings, if you are able to do so. Catherine’s installation at St Mary’s Market Drayton will be at 7.00pm on 22nd November. If you are interested in coming along, we have been approached by the kind people there about possible provision of accommodation, either by church members or using local B&B options. Alternatively, there could be the option of a coach back that night, depending on numbers. Please let Alan know soonish a) if you plan to attend and b) whether you’d prefer the accommodation or coach option  email alan.harvey@bhcgodalming.org. Finally, a reminder that we are arranging a leaving gift for Catherine. Please pass any cash donations or cheques to Alison Martin, Alan Harvey or Liz Cooke  (cheques payable to St Peter’s church, Hambledon), or send by bank transfer to the Hambledon church account sort code: 40-52-40 acc no: 00019678  quoting ref CATHERINE.

We are very sad to report that Michael Barrett died peacefully on Tuesday 12th September, in Birtley House. He had been staying there since he came out of hospital and was wonderfully looked after. Please pray for Michael’s brother, John, and sister-in-law Eunice. The funeral service will be held in Busbridge church at 11.00am on Tuesday 26th September 2017, followed by committal at the crematorium. All friends are warmly invited.

Pathfinders Youth (12-14s)
“It’s a great area of church life to be involved in”
Our vision is to work alongside parents to see young people Love God, Follow Jesus, Grow in faith and Share that faith with their mates! We get really excited about what God has planned for their lives. Our hope is to be a church that they want to be part of.
The Sunday Morning team  (10.30am Service) are all male and in need of a couple of females who are gifted at discipling young people.
The Friday Night team (every other Friday) are also looking for people who have a gift at connecting with young people where they are at, and being a first contact to faith in Jesus.
We’d love to hear from you if you’d like to join either team. Why not grab James Ellin and have a chat! 01483 421267 or email james.ellin@bhcgodalming.org.

Music Night for Old Rectory
Gary Wilson-Balchin’s fun charity music event was on Saturday night an raised a healthy £622.20 for the Old Rectory.  Thanks to Gary for all his hard work making this such a fun night.

The next Squires lunch will be on the 24th September at 12 noon. If you would like to join in please talk to Terry Swantonby Wednesday 20th

Do you like talking to God?
How about helping others talk to God? If so, have you considered leading prayers at the 6.30 services?  We’re looking for some more people to join the rota,  with no requirement for a regular commitment. If you’d like to find out more, contact Suzie Lambert at suzie.c.lambert@gmail.com.

Message from Bryan & Tori
Thank you to Busbridge & Hambledon Church for the welcome of our daughter! We want to send our thanks and appreciation for the overwhelming amount of love, prayer, cards, gifts and meals from so many at BHC. It has been such an encouragement to us and a testimony to God’s love at work at BHC. Abigail Rose Silletti is now 3 weeks old (born 24th August 2017) and we look forward to introducing her to our church family when we are a bit more settled. 

Nexus
On Thursday 5th October, John Peddie will come and talk about the work of ASCT – Asian Students Christian Trust (now Children of the Dump – Manila). John is a trustee of ASCT and also runs a media production company. Last year he went to Manila to make a video about the extremely poor families who scrape a living by scavenging from the huge rubbish dump on the outskirts of Manila. This was to help promote the work of the various educational and residential projects undertaken by ASCT and, most importantly, the impact they are having on the communities they touch. You will be moved by the plight of these young ‘children of the dump’. Do come along and find out more! The meeting will start at 8.00pm in the Busbridge Church Centre, and we’ll have drinks and nibbles and time for a chat before John starts his talk.  All are very welcome!

Working party
Stuart Jones is organising a working party to help remove the hedge between the Centre and Old Rectory and needs volunteers to join him between 9.00am – 12.00pm on Saturday 30th September. Bacon rolls/refreshments will be supplied. Volunteers will need to bring chainsaws (with appropriate safety gear), saws, wire cutters (as we need to remove a stretch of wire fencing), spades, wheelbarrows, gloves etc. If people could let Stuart know on asjones1@btinternet.com or 01483 418581 if they are able to give an hour or two that would be helpful with planning for catering.

Contemporary Service
Welcomers are urgently needed for the Contemporary service. We are only asking for a once a month commitment, term time only, with the possibility to do swaps where necessary. Contrary to popular belief, there is more to welcoming than giving out bits of paper, and you don’t need to already know everybody in church. Please contact jenny.lansdowne@btinternet.com. Huge thanks to Nin Moore, Niki Holmes and Ceri Apark who over the past few months have stepped down from welcoming after many years.

Home Group and Harvest Sunday BBQ
On Sunday 1st October we are combining Harvest Sunday with a Home Group sponsored barbeque in Busbridge.  The BBQ will be from 10.00am until 1.00pm across both the classic and contemporary services. This is also an opportunity to find out more about homegroups across BHC so do pop along.

Hambledon Church Harvest Supper…
…will be held at Hambledon Village Hall  on Saturday 23rd September at 7.00pm. Tickets cost £8.00 and are available from the Village Shop or can be reserved by phoning Sheelagh Vacher on 01483 416746.

The Invictus Games start soon in Toronto; a para-sport competition for injured and sick armed service personnel started by Prince Harry. The name comes from the poem by William Ernest Henley, which ends, “It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”

I wouldn’t disagree with the poem’s sentiments of courage and fortitude ‘against the odds’; but, as someone who follows Jesus, I can’t help thinking, “Really? Am I really the captain of my soul?”

Being on the verge of leaving gives one a certain boldness! So, perhaps I could ask you a provocative question and ask you to give it some serious and honest thought. Who – really – is the captain of your soul? Who or what – really – directs and orders your life: the actions you take; the decisions you make?

Spouse, partner, children, grandchildren, boss, bank manager, personal trainer, friends, Rector (!), Jesus: if you were to place those people in order of who, honestly, most influences your day to day life, what would the pecking order look like? Where would Jesus really come?

Christ’s love compelled Paul to no longer live for himself, but for Him. Jesus’ love literally gripped him and he was utterly powerless to resist it. He would do anything, go anywhere, speak to anyone if Jesus asked him. Can I say the same for myself? Or am I just playing at being a Jesus-follower?

There’s a line of a worship song you might be familiar with: “From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny.” It always makes me catch my breath when I sing it. What a ridiculously, terrifyingly, gloriously life-changing thing to say, if I truly mean it.

What are the firm foundations on which we build? What is rock solid for us going forward over the next few weeks? 

We are about to start a sermon series on Firm Foundations exploring ‘who am I?’, ‘where do I belong?’ and ‘what am I living for?’. We will be exploring why it is important that we are children of God adopted into God’s family, and what it means to be a citizen of both heaven and earth.

As we start a new term at work, school, church and in our community what are the foundations that we want to build on further?  How might we use the gifts God has given us to bring purpose, hope and new life to others?  How can we be both innocent children of God receptive to the nourishing care of a God who loves and cherishes us, and responsible adult citizens of both earth and heaven bringing the wisdom and insight God has given us?

C S Lewis wrote, ‘Christ wants a child’s heart but a grown-up’s head.  He wants us to be simple, single-minded, affectionate and teachable, as good children are: but He also wants every bit of intelligence we have to be alert at its job, and in first class fighting trim.’ (Mere Christianity).