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Welcome
St John’s ChurchFelbridge
All change - well, it ’s not actually all change, but therehave been a few things changing recently at St. John’s aswe seek to position ourselves in the best place for the workGod has called us to.
Inside this issue you’ll nd details about the changes to theinterior of our church to maximise the potential and use ofthe amazing building God has given us. You’ll also nd outwhat’s changed with our children’s and youth groups and
our Sunday services, as well as stories of work going on inUganda and Cambodia to bring change to people’s lives inthese parts of the world.
In any organisation or community, there will be a healthymix of those who nd change hard as well as those whofeel it doesn’t happen fast enough. But one thing that’strue is that throughout history the church has always hadto change to face the challenges of each new generation.The message of the Bible, of the gospel of Jesus, stays thesame as it anchors us in our fast-changing world, but ourapproach to the work God has called us to must evolve withtimes. It has been said that,
“The great drama of the life of the church is that it has toreproduce itself in every generation”
MARK FRANCIS (vicar)
ISSUE 4
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OUT OF THIS WORLD
has been going from strength to strength with new children and
friends coming along. The group is for those aged between 3
and 11 and is a jam-packed, fun-lled three-quarters of an hour.
We play games, watch videos, sing songs, create crafts and
through all these various activities we explore Bible stories and
themes. Our aim is that the children will learn more about God in
a fun and safe environment.
BIBLE OVERVIEW
We have recently started a new teaching series exploring thestories of the Bible beginning with Creation, then moving through
the Old Testament and from there through the New Testament as
we discover more about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and
about the experiences of the very rst Christians. By following this
overview our hope is that the children will see how God’s plan of
salvation is worked out through the whole Bible.
JESUS STORYBOOK BIBLE DVDS
We’re using these as part of the teaching, which pull out the
main stories from the Bible and use aminations to retell them.
They’re short and engaging clips presenting the stories in a child-
appropriate manner. The children love them and learn so much
from them! At the end of each story there is a clear link to the
life of Jesus, showing the children how the whole Bible points to
Jesus as our King and Saviour. Through discussions and activities
the children explore how each story applies to them in their lives.
OUR HOPE
is that the children will remember these stories as they grow and
develop and that through them their knowledge of God and
relationship with Him will deepen, that they will experience for
themselves His love and forgiveness, and full their potential as
His children. So, the whole story of the Bible in just a year and a
half! Maybe that sounds rather ambitious to you? Well, we want
to have great ambitions and hopes for the children as we teach
them about God and where they t into His story for the world.
ALL CHILDRENare very welcome to come and try out our groups which run
during our 10am service, whether you are normally church-
goers or not. There is a real sense of friendship within the group,
with the children caring for each other and the older children
looking out for the younger ones. And it’s a joy to see young lives
changed and lasting friendships formed. Proverbs 22 verse 6
says,
“Start the children off on the way they should go, and even when
they are old they will not turn from it.”
Please pray with us that the children who meet together will
continue in what they have learnt about God for the rest of their
lives.
Our team of children’s leaders are all DBS checked and receive
Safeguarding training. In addition to our Out of this World group,
we also run a Crèche for 0-2s during the 10am service.
OUT OF THIS WORLD
Things are changing rapidly in the world around us, many things for good, and some not so good.But the message of the Bible stays the same. It holds us fast in a changing world. Here’s a bit about
what the children at St. John’s are discovering and learning this year...
Takes place during our 10am service
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XTB LUNCHTIME CLUB AT FELBRIDGE SCHOOLExplore the Bible Club (XTB) at Felbridge School is now running
for the 4th term and it has been a really exciting opportunity for
the junior children, aged between 7 and 11, to learn a bit more
about Jesus from the Bible. Mark Francis, Penny Jeffers and I
have been going into the school on a Thursday lunchtime each
week to teach stories from the Bible, whilst playing games and
making crafts with the children.
Last term, we traced Peter’s story through the Gospels to
see how his faith and friendship with Jesus developed and
deepened. This term the children have been discovering
more about God’s character through the stories of Joseph and
Moses; in particular how God kept His promises and how He
is the great Rescuer. The children have activity books to work
in each week: solving puzzles, spotting the difference, creating
crafts and cracking codes as they learn more about the true
stories from the Bible.
It has been a joy to see children learning and to see them
coming running down the corridor (no running in the corridors!)
week on week, eager and excited to be there.
Abby Benjamin
Sunday services at 10am and 6pm (and 8am on the 2nd & 4th Sundays)
WE’RE RELAUNCHING OUR 6PM SERVICE FOR 3 MAIN REASONS:
• Sunday mornings are not a good time for everyone, and so our 6pm service is
now a realistic alternative
• We’re aware of the need for us as a church to be doing more for young people
in Felbridge, and so our youth groups for 11-18s will run alongside our 6pm
service
• Our 10am service is often full, and so we hope to be able to continue moving
forward by building up our 6pm service.
So instead of a main service at 10am and a subsidiary one at 6pm, there will now
be two main services on an equal footing.
WHO IS THIS SERVICE FOR?
It’s for anyone at all, but…
Maybe you have sport or work or family commitments on a Sunday morning, or it’s
just your one chance in the week to have a lie-in?
Maybe you and your family would like to be part of the new Felbridge youth
setup?
Maybe you are often serving at our 10am service and don’t want to miss out on
being in church?
Maybe you just prefer the feel of the 6pm service?
Or maybe you like the idea of a Sunday tea before church each week?
Doors will open at 5:15 with tea served beforehand. The service starts at 6pm and
will nish at 7pm or shortly after. And the youth groups will run alongside all of this,
nishing at 7:30pm.
At both our services there will be music, prayer, and a talk from the Bible. We’re
very positive when it comes to the Bible – we believe and experience that God
speaks to each of us through these words today.
CHURCH FOR THOSE WHO DON’T DO
SUNDAY MORNINGS,
CHURCH FOR THOSE WHO CAN’T DO SUNDAY MORNINGS
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MAXIMISING THEPOTENTIAL OF OURCHURCH BUILDINGWHAT WE’VE DONE AND WHY?St. John’s was built in 1865 and the last major alterations to the interior of thechurch were in 1972/4. We are so grateful for a superb church building here inFelbridge that has been used to the glory of God for 150 years! But we had alsobecame increasingly aware of its limitations.
That’s why we undertook a project to update the interior of the church tomaximize its potential and use. We have upgraded the seating, heating, ooring,lighting and audio-visual system.
INCREASED FLEXIBILITY The building was being used for only 3-4 hours per week, but the increasedexibility concerning the sorts of meetings and events the church can be used for
will enable us to make the very best use of the church throughout the week.
INCREASED CAPACITY St. John’s is a relatively small church building and it had pews to seat 130 people.We are regularly over 80% full at our 10am service and the changes to the interiorhas now increased our capacity to up to 180-200 chairs.
A BUILDING THAT SPEAKSBuildings speak whether we like it or not and we are very pleased with the newfeel of the church. The changes have enhanced the building, bringing to thefore the attractive stonework and original features, and creating an uplifting andvibrant space that speaks of the “life to the full” that Jesus came to offer to all(John 10:10).
IMPROVED ACCESSThe exible space and removal of steps and levels in a number of places hasmade the building more accessible and welcoming to those with wheelchairs orbuggies, and those who are less mobile.
RENEWED FACILITIESReplacing our heating, lighting and audio-visual system was a real and immediateconcern and the up-to-date technology and equipment are already making a realdifference to what we are able to do.
We are very grateful to the contractors for their work and expertise, to themembers of the church who gave their time in a variety of ways to make thishappen, and to Imberhorne School for allowing us to meet there while the work
was taking place. We are also very grateful to those members of the church whohave given in the past to our building projects that has enabled us to pay for this
renovation work.
Before
Before
Before
After
After
After
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Before
Before
After
After
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Apologetics Explored 2016[Apologetics = the reasoned defence for the truth of Christian
beliefs]
For our Lent Course at St. John’s this year, we’ve had a great
time as Joe Clease has led us looking into the evidence
and arguments that can give us condence in the truth of
Christianity. We’ve been considering the most common
objections to faith in Jesus and thinking about what wecan truthfully say to respond to such objections. This is an
important part of contemporary Christianity: one example
that demonstrates this is that recent surveys show that a large
percentage of people in Britain do not even think Jesus was a
real historical person, despite almost unanimous agreement
on this among historians.
Here are the topics tackled, which often become barriers to
belief for people:
• Reliability & Historical Basis of the Bible
• Historical Basis for Jesus & the Resurrection
• Other Faith and Beliefs
• Creation of the World
• Science, Evidence and Evolution
• Suffering, Evil and Morality
If you would like to listen to presentations on these and similar
themes, please visit this page of our church website: http://
www.stjohnsfelbridge.com/explore-more/claims-of-christianity
The Search for God and the Path to
PersuasionWe are currently recommending
this excellent new book at
St. John’s, hot off the press. If
apologetics is something that
sparks your interest, this book
may be for you.
Former vicar of St. John’s,
Stephen Bowen, very sadly
died in November last year,
having served as vicar of the
church in Felbridge for 33
years. Before he died, he was able to carry out the rst edit of
this new book written by Peter May. Peter was a close friend
of Stephen’s and spoke at his funeral, paying tribute to him.
Stephen edited the book just before he went into hospital for
the last time, having also discussed it with Peter for a number
of years prior to this as the ideas for the book were coming
together. He endorsed it enthusiastically and Stephen and
Mandy have prayed the book into being over the years.
Stephen shared this passion for effective evangelism and
apologetics that Peter May speaks about in the book, and that
Joe Clease has led us to think about through our Lent Course
this year. This passion began for Stephen as a student during
his days as President of CICCU (Cambridge Inter Collegiate
Christian Union) and many of us will be so aware of how
Stephen put this into practice throughout all aspects of his
life and ministry. His desire was to point people to the Lord
who had transformed his life and who had given him immense
strength and unwavering hope in the face of death.
In Memory of StephenSpeaking at Stephen’s
funeral service,
churchwarden Andy
Brown reminded us that
pervading all that Stephen
did as vicar of Felbridge
was both his loving
pastoral care through
which he modelled the
Christian life for us; and
the priority he gave toproclaiming the good
news of Jesus by faithfully
and relevantly teaching
the Bible.
It is therefore hugely appropriate that the money given
at Stephen’s funeral in memory of him has been used to
purchase the new set of NIV 2011 church Bibles. We are
delighted to have these available for all to use as we begin life
in our newly refurbished church. May all be persuaded of the
truth about Jesus they nd inside!
John 17:17 Jesus says to God, his Father, “Your word is truth!”
BEING TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWINGOF OUR MINDS ROMANS CHAPTER 12 VERSE 2
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WRC runs a wide range of projects addressing many local
concerns. These range from food security, education and
healthcare to raising awareness of the dangers of child trafcking –
all of which show God’s love for the poor.
Brenda adds: “I would particularly like to tell you about a 15
year-old girl called Srey Noch who lives in Puk Reusey village in
Cambodia”.
As usual for most teenage girls, growing up Srey Noch spent
most of her time with her friends. However, as she got older she
began to stay away from home, avoid helping her family with the
housework, and became very rude towards them. She was causing
trouble at home and her parents really struggled to look after her.
It is funny how God guides us to the right places. Srey Noch and
her friends used to hang out every weekend, watching a puppet
show in their community. They always loved it. After a few months
she got chatting to the group putting on the show. It turned out
they were from World Relief Cambodia! They invited Srey Noch
and her friends to some of the events they put on for teenagers.
Srey Noch and her friends went along to one of their events and
have continued to do so. They are always fun and a place to build
good friendships, but also have a teaching element. The teaching
topics ranges from anti-trafcking to healthcare and to spiritual
well-being.
Through the love shown to her - a troublesome teenager - Srey
Noch found Jesus. Asking Him into her life was a world-changingmoment for her. “After I accepted Jesus, my life was transformed.
Jesus calls us to a different way of life and I realised that I should
love everyone, including my family - even when they asked me to
do housework! Now we have a much better relationship and I am
looking forward to joining a cell-church”.
Brenda particularly liked the idea that the children were reached
through the puppet shows as we have Bruno and Soli at
St. John’s to help us teach our young people about Jesus.
She concludes: “Through the Connected Church Scheme we willlearn about many more lives that have been transformed by WRC
and we will be hearing about projects that need our prayers. It
will be such an encouragement for us to know that our prayers
and nancial support are helping to bring about these changes”.
As a Tearfund Connected Church, we will be sharing regular
updates about WRC as we receive them.
St. John’s becomes a
Connected ChurchSt. John’s has become one of Tearfund’s
Connected Churches with a special link
to World Relief Cambodia (WRC).
Asked why this is so special, Brenda
Wilkinson explains: “We will develop
closer links with WRC and learn about
their work in greater detail. And we’ll
get regular updates about the projects
they are running and learn how people’s
lives are being transformed. As welearn more about Cambodia and its
problems and feel more connected to
WRC we will have the opportunity to ask
Tearfund to arrange for a small group
from our church family to go and see
WRC projects for ourselves”.
BRINGING CHANGE IN CAMBODIA
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The Marriage Course
When St John’s decided to run a marriagecourse at the end of last year, I was intrigued.Paul and I had been married for 10 yearsand when Mark explained that it wasn’t justfor newlyweds, but also for those who havebeen together for 5, 10, 25, even 50 years– as a sort of MOT for a relationship – I wassold.
We turned up each Thursday for 7 weeksand spent half an hour mingling with othercouples over a glass or two and then wereseated at our very own ‘table for two’ to
enjoy the mostfabulous meal prepared for us each weekby Chris Saunders and his family. It was like‘date night’ at a restaurant.
We watched a DVD in which an experiencedcouple covered topics with stories from
their own marriage as examples, as well asinput from other selected couples. Subjects
covered included: communication, resolvingconict, forgiveness, impact of family,good sex and love in action. Every nowand again we would break from the DVDto discuss in our couples different aspectsof our relationship, with activities andquestionnaires – we even had homework! Paul and I got a lot out of the MarriageCourse both in improving our communica-tion, being open about how we feel, and arenewed and much deeper love and respectfor each other. We also recognise how God
and His love for us helps make our marriageand family life happy and strong as we dealwith whatever comes our way. This course isa must for any couple, whatever stage theyare at!
Paul and Allison Phillips
Look out for news of similar courses on“Parenting” and “Living with Loss” this
coming autumn.
01342 [email protected]
CHANGING (TRANSLATING) THE BIBLE IN UGANDAN LANGUAGES
GIFT AND KATHRYN ASIKU,Working with Wycliffe BibleTranslators
In February I had the great joy and privilege ofreturning to Uganda (where I was born and grewup and later worked), to visit our Mission Partners,Gift and Kathryn Asiku and their two boys,James (7) and Simon Peter (5).
They live and work in Entebbe on the shores ofLake Victoria, about 20 miles from the capital,Kampala, but at least an hour away by road! Ashis name suggests, Gift is Ugandan from Arua,in the north of the country; Kathryn’s home isin Kent, but they met in Arua while Kathryn wasworking on literacy projects there, and after they
were married they moved to work in the WycliffeBible Translators office in Entebbe.
Gift facilitates a team of translators currentlyworking on 4 different languages acrossUganda, providing supervision, encouragementand training – which may involve travellingconsiderable distances. They have completed theNew Testament, and are now working on the OT.
Kathryn is involved with literacy projects,particularly the production of cheaply-printedbooks which are easily translated and accessible,covering a wide range of subjects from Bible
stories to healthcare, nutrition and goodagricultural practice.
Their two boys attend local schools, so Kathryn juggles her days between work and home: anearly-morning walk to collect the milk (straightfrom the cow!), getting the boys to school, timeat the office and daily shopping at the local shopor market. Although she has help during theweek with the laundry (no washing machine!)and preparing lunch, a very unreliable electricitysupply presents additional challenges!
I was honoured and privileged to share in their
lives whilst over there, to see some of theirwork, to meet their colleagues, and to visit theirchurch (also St John’s!) where I received a verywarm welcome. The Presidential Election tookplace while I was with them, and much prayer isneeded that the country will remain peaceful andstable so that daily life can continue unhindered.
Anne Butler
To all our friends at St. John’s,
Thank you for lending Anne to us for a few weeks! We have enjoyed having her with us and her time here has been a blessing and an
encouragement. We are excited that she will be able to bring you pictures and first-hand accounts of our lives and work here in Uganda. We hopethis will inspire you to pray for us and the people here who are waiting for God’s Word in their language. Thank you for praying for Uganda during the
elections. We are grateful to God for the peace we can enjoy. Thank you for your generous gift. We appreciate the love you have shown us.
Love, Kathryn, Gift, James and Simon-Peter
CHANGING MARRIAGES FOR THE BETTER