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Newsletter January 2023

Posted by admin on 28th December 2022

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As we enter a New Year, here are some thoughts from JI Packer on spiritual adoption from his book Knowing God: 

“If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all.”

Packer says that if he were to focus the New Testament message in three words, he would choose ‘adoption through propitiation’.

“I do not expect,” he writes, “ever to meet a richer or more pregnant summary of the gospel than that.”

How would Packer summarise the whole of New Testament teaching?A revelation of the Fatherhood of the holy Creator. He summarises the whole of New Testament religion as the knowledge of God as one’s holy Father. He writes:

“Everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian … is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God.”

Packer says that each of us should ask ourselves the following questions:
Do I, as a Christian, understand myself?
Do I know my own real identity?
My own real destiny?

Calling this “the Christian’s secret of a Christian life and of a God-honouring life,” he says that we should take the following truths and “Say it over and over to yourself first thing in the morning, last thing at night, as you wait for the bus, any time your mind is free, and ask that you may be enabled to live as one
who knows it is all utterly and completely true.”

1. I am a child of God
2. God is my Father
3. Heaven is my home
4. Every day is one day nearer home
5. My Saviour is my brother
6. Every Christian is my brother too

Every blessing in Christ,

Ian

On January 18th, 8pm  – 9.30pm, in the Vestry, Christianity Explored is starting.

Are you inviting someone, or are you coming along to support others?

Newsletter 30th November

Posted by admin on 30th November 2022

www.benwoodcraft.com

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

However difficult circumstances are, and this year they are very difficult, we have reason to celebrate with joy: God has visited us! There’s no greater gift anyone could give than themselves.

Luke records this good news in these words of the angel Gabriel spoken to his mother Mary in Luke 1:35.  ‘The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you are to conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants for ever; his kingdom will never end.”’

Gabriel goes on to say to Mary that this conception is to be entirely God’s work. The Virgin birth has perplexed many of us, but if God has created the laws of nature, he is able to set them aside when He chooses.

CS Lewis calls the incarnation ‘the grand miracle’ – without it, God’s rescue couldn’t happen. For Jesus to take our place on the cross, he had to be one of us; for his sacrifice to satisfy God’s justice, He had to be without sin himself, so he had to God Himself.

In his book ‘Miracles,’ CS Lewis writes: ‘in the Christian story, God descends to reascend; he comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity; down to the very roots and seabed of the nature he has created. But he goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined world up with him. One has the picture of a strong man stooping lower and lower to get himself underneath some great burden. He must stoop in order to lift, he must almost disappear under the load before he incredibly straightens his back and marches off with the whole mass swaying on his shoulders.’

The ‘strong man’ is Jesus, who has come to raise us to share with Him the glory of heaven.

So, with joy we look forward to the celebrations at:
6.30 pm on December 11th for Carols by Candlelight
10:45 am on 18th December for our children’s nativity as part of our usual all age service
4.30 pm on 24th December, Christmas Eve, for the children’s carol service
10 am on 25th December to celebrate Christmas day around His table.

Everyone is invited; please bring friends along too.

Every blessing in Christ,

Ian

Choir for Christmas

Come and join a few of us singing a modern carol at the
11th December Carol Service. 
We are going to learn it on this Sunday and the next one at the
end of the 10.45 service.

Wanting to sing praises to Jesus 
is more important than having a fantastic voice.
So join us even if you only usually sing when no one is around to hear you!

Please join one of the two Wednesday night CONNECT groups at the Vicarage or at the home of either the Ocholi’s / Woodcraft’s.
Choose the one which is nearest to where you live.
Over the weeks ahead, we’re going to be praying for the building of the church.

…the people
…the brick buildings
…the people who aren’t yet part of the church
 Have a chat to Ian, Attah or Adam about coming along to one of the Connect groups if you’re unsure about which one to go to. 

Alongside our fortnightly prayer below, here’s a prayer for us to consider praying each week asking for the Holy Spirit to help us grow spiritually and numerically as more people come to know Jesus as their Saviour. Almighty God, who alone gives life,and who alone can bring growth to your Church,
please send your Holy Spirit
to give vision to our planning,
wisdom to our actions,
and power to our witness.
Please grant that our church may grow in numbers
in spiritual commitment to you,
and in service to our local community.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Amen.

Newsletter 16th November

Posted by admin on 16th November 2022

It’s certainly not too early to mention Christmas. November 27th is Advent Sunday when younger members of the family open the first window of the Advent Calendar. It’s the start of the countdown to Christmas day when at last we can open the presents!

Traditionally it’s the Sunday Christians get ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the king who came in disguise to sacrifice His life for us, so we could be ready for His return as judge.

Paul puts it like this in his letter to Titus 1:11-14 …
‘For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.’

For us older members of the family, it’s a green light for singing the great Christmas carols at Church and, why not, at home? Why not join the choir? That God became one of us so we could become His sons, His daughters and His heirs is something to sing about!

It’s the starting flag for looking out the lights and candles to remember Jesus is the light of the world. When the days are short and the green shoots of spring are distant, it’s a good way to remember Him.

It might be a time to reach for one of the great advent books that have appeared over the last few years. You might already have one on the shelf. If not you might like to try Jared Wilson’s ‘Gifts of Grace’. Through scripture and carols he shows us the beautiful diamond of Christmas through 25 great truths about Jesus.

With the world in gloom, we’ve good news to share. It’s the easiest time of the year to talk to friends about Jesus, and invite them to things at Church. It’s certainly not too early to pray for those opportunities.

Every blessing in Christ,

Ian

Newsletter 3 November 2022

Posted by admin on 3rd November 2022

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

This is the season of remembering.
On the 5th November we remember with thanks the failed gunpowder plot of 1605. On the 13th November we remember with thanks the end of the second world war on the 11/11/1945. And we remember, with thanks for them, loved ones who have died, some in the recent covid pandemic.

The great news of the resurrection of Jesus is that we don’t remember in vain – there is the promise of a joyful re-union for all who follow Him – much to look forward to as well as much to remember.

Just before He gave His life for us, Jesus prayed for His followers in these words  in John 19:24 ‘Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.’

We who follow Jesus have His perspective on life, and it spans from before the creation of the world to the end of the age when we will one day be ‘where He is’ – in the glory of God the Father.

Along with Jesus, we’ve been part of the Father’s plan before time began, and will be caught up in the glory of Jesus’ eternal, global rule when time has run its course.

That puts a refreshingly different perspective on things doesn’t it? In an age which is only aware of ‘now,’ we look back and forward further than NASA’s latest James Webb telescope can ‘see.’

So, let’s remember with thanks our past as people of the UK as there is much the Lord has done to bless us in this country; let’s remember with thanks our loved ones who have died in Christ, who we look forward to joining in His glory; and lets give thanks that our Lord Jesus has done all that’s needed for us to one day be at home with him too.
 
Every blessing in Christ,

Ian

It’s only just November…
…but with only just over 7 weeks to go and the sermon last Sunday to encourage us to think about who we can invite to hear about the Good News of Jesus’ birth, then perhaps these dates can go in your diary

Sunday 18th December Evening Carol Service
Saturday 24th December 4pm Children’s Carol Service
Sunday 25th December Christmas Day Service

October 5th Newsletter

Posted by admin on 5th October 2022
photo: Gozha Net on Unsplash.com

Dear church family,

All the farms in our area were built over long ago, and we feel removed from the rural rhythms of planting and reaping.

Nevertheless, it’s a good idea to remember where our food comes from, and pause to give thanks for those who get it onto the shelves and around in the delivery vans.

Behind all of the agricultural and retail workers, stands the Lord our creator who gives us all the food we enjoy, and who is to be thanked above all. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:3 that God created food and marriage ‘to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received 
with thanksgiving …’

There were and are very religious, ‘spiritual’ people who, then and now, abstained from certain foods and even from marriage. And there is a time and a place for fasting in both, to free up time and energy to seek the Lord in prayer. But most of the time, and at harvest time particularly, marriage and food is to be enjoyed with thanksgiving and celebration with family, friends, and loved ones in the community.

So, come and join us this Sunday 9th October for our harvest service and lunch in the hall after. We’re having a simple soup and bread lunch to celebrate harvest, in recognition that two thirds of the world don’t have enough food, while our one third has too much. At the lunch there’ll be an opportunity to give to the Barnabas Fund, helping Christians in Pakistan after the recent floods.

Also, join us for the 90 anniversary celebrations on the 15th October from
2pm – 5pm in the main Church building. There will be plenty of burgers, cakes and other delights at ridiculously low prices, at the family and community celebration for the building being 90 years old. As well as refreshments, there are games for all ages, live music and ‘join-in’ demonstrations from groups which meet in the Parish hall. Scouts have a knotty problems stand, and there is a chance to see more about the history of the church, and spot your road as it looked almost a century ago. 

I hope to see you and am looking forward to that,
 
Every blessing in Christ,

Ian

Photo: Margaret Jaszowska on Unsplash

Harvest Lunch this Sunday 9th October

After a harvest service in the church building at 10.45,
please bring along some soup or bread for a simple lunch together.
Please speak to Ruth or Denise if you’d like to
contribute some soup or bread. 


Please bring along donations for Barnabas Fund who are
supporting those affected by the floods in Pakistan.


This is what your donation could buy: 
Mosquito net (one per family) £2.50
Emergency family food package to last 25-30 days £20
20 plastic sheets for temporary shelters (one per family) £28
Clean drinking water and water purification tablets for 50 families £38

90th Anniversary Celebration
October 15th
2-5pm

Keep inviting folk to this event. We’ve had a few changes to the programme and have more solo singers and light jazz. 

If you’d like to make cakes to go alongside the drinks on the day, please bring them along at 2pm.

Family games will kick off the afternoon from 2pm – 3pm

Food bank donations are welcome.

And a prayer that we can all be praying together: 
Lord of creation,
whose glory is around and within us:
open our eyes to your wonders,
that we may serve you with reverence
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

Newsletter 7/9/22

Posted by admin on 7th September 2022

Back to Church Sunday – 18th September

There are plenty of challenges around for our new prime minister to face – the first war in Europe for many years, the rising cost of energy, the mental health of the nation coming out of the pandemic, the challenges of the channel crossings, rampant inflation and the disruption of the global supply chain.

Paul tells us that we are to pray for Her Majesty the Queen and for her government, the opposition and all in authority; these challenges make the need for that call all the more obvious. We need to pray for these pressures to be managed well for good order to prevail, so that the Good News of Christ can be heard.

In 1 Timothy 2:1-4 we read: ‘I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may life peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness (because) … God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.’

We get the leaders we pray for, so let’s make use of Back to Church Sunday coming up on 18th September to gather to pray for those who have the responsibility of leading our country and making big decisions in these demanding times.

Please use this opportunity to invite friends, family and neighbours to join us for the all age back to church Sunday coming up on the 18th of September at 10:45 am.
 
Every blessing in Christ,

Ian

90th Anniversary Celebration
THIS SATURDAY (10th September)
2-5pm
The invites have gone out
The burgers have been bought
The cakes are being baked
The film is in the can
The sax sounds quite ethereal
The face paints wait expectantly
Now all that’s needed is…
…you (and your friends, family, and neighbours)

A huge thank you to all those who came and helped paint the boards surrounding Eardley Road’s St John’s hall. Alongside the keen group of teenagers were Jo, Helen, and David from the Streatham Festival.
Thank you for making the sad looking hoardings look so beautiful.
Thanks go to Anthony Gold who had been storing the paintings after they had been on the A23 hoardings towards Norbury, and thanks to Homebase for providing the lovely blue paint.
Alongside painting, Kyra, Barny and Christevie discovered a way to strengthen their arm muscles doing some urban gardening rather than going to the gym.

Photo: Providence Doucet on Unsplash

Save the date

Saturday October 15th 7.30pm

Plans are coming together for a concert in the church with
musicians of the Holy Redeemer and their friends.
Watch this space for updates.

And a prayer that we can all be praying together: 

Almighty and everlasting God,
you are always more ready to hear than we to pray
and to give more than either we desire or deserve:
pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid
and giving us those good things
      which we are not worthy to ask
but through the merits and mediation
of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Amen

Festival fun on the Vale

Posted by admin on 31st August 2022

There’s so much to do all afternoon on September 10th.

Food will be priced at £1 for a burger and soft drink, and you can sit and eat this whilst listening to some beautiful saxophone music or the community choir, after you’ve had a go at the games, found your street in the photographs from the 1930s, and taken part in the all age craft.

It’s a mini festival on your doorstep!

Newsletter July 20th 2022

Posted by admin on 20th July 2022
person standing in front of fire

I’ve found the prophecy of Daniel encouraging over the last few Sundays.

Starting as an exiled teenager in Babylon, in a culture where God had been air brushed out of the picture, he served with faithfulness and distinction into his old age.

In chapter 12, we see how God gave Daniel the wisdom to keep going:
12:1 Daniel expected ‘a time of distress’ and was not surprised when it came, when, for example, he was falsely accused and thrown into a den of lions.

12:1 he trusted that ‘God’s people would be delivered’.  He knew that the Lord could save him from the lions; but even if He didn’t, Daniel knew that the Lord would deliver him ultimately. 

It was his eternal hope that led him to:
12:2 fear God not people, because it is the Lord who ‘raised some to everlasting life, and who condemned others to shame and everlasting contempt. 

It was because of this, that:
12:3 he took these trials as opportunities to ‘lead many to righteousness.’ He spoke about the certain hope of everlasting life he had.

We may conclude that:
12:13 throughout his life he kept his eyes on the future, confident that ‘at the end of the days he would rise to receive his allotted inheritance.’

When we face the fiery trials of life, let’s pray for the wisdom to bear them as Daniel – with our eyes fixed on the future. The more we do, the more we’ll live this life with faithful distinction, as he did.
 
Every blessing in Christ,

Ian

90th Anniversary Celebration – September 10th
2-5pm
The poster is outside the church,
the choir has started rehearsing, 
the ‘taster sessions’ and live music acts are warming up,
the afternoon just needs…
YOU!

It’s back!
The 9am Service 
3rd September 
The Vestry

As part of the 90th Anniversary Celebration, Lynn& Ian are collecting photographs and memories of the Holy Redeemer and the Vale for a display and for … a film. 
Do you have photos of people, the area, or the church building that you could let us take a look at? We can scan in the photos and print them out,
so we don’t have to have the originals on display. 
Do you have a special memory that you’d like to share
and possibly have recorded? 

And a prayer that we can all be praying together: 

O God, the protector of all who trust in you,

without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:

Increase and multiply upon us your mercy;

that, with you as our ruler and guide,

we may so pass through things temporal,

that we lose not the things eternal;

through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen

Newsletter 22nd June 2022

Posted by admin on 22nd June 2022

This year the Church family is 95 and the Church building is 90.

People first started meeting as the Church of the Holy Redeemer in 1927, in the Church Hall, and the present Church building was built in 1932.

The buildings are important, but the people who make up HRS are more important.

Peter’s first letter says (1 Peter 2:5): ‘… you also, like living stones are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood …’

And he goes on to say (1 Peter 2:6) that Jesus Christ is the Cornerstone, around which we, individual Christians are being built to become the temple and the priests of the Lord.

We Christians, are now the temple, the place where people can meet with the living God; and we are now the priests, the people who pray and proclaim the sacrifice Christ Jesus made for anyone who comes to God to be reconciled to Him.

It’s wonderful to think that God has been building people together into His Church at HRS for the last 95 years.

This September we’re celebrating these things, along with the faithful service of Margaret Andrews, Shirley Wallace and others, who have been priests in the Lord’s temple at HRS for many decades. 

So, please put Saturday the 10th of September in your diaries to celebrate these things as a church family. It’s also a time to celebrate alongside many other groups and people from the wider community. For the past 90 years, HRS has been for some a landmark in the Vale and for others, a focal point in the community. 

Your brother in Christ,
Ian

Living stones, all different shapes but all fitting together

10th September

90th Anniversary Celebration – September 10th
Plans are taking shape for our church and community celebration on the afternoon of September 10th. 
Ruth and her team are looking for volunteers so that the day of feasting, singing, games, activities from and for the young, and the older and wiser, will all go smoothly.


There are roles for people who want to talk to everyone, and roles for people who want to be behind the scenes helping.
Can you BBQ a burger? Serve a coffee? String up bunting? 
Do you know anyone who would be able to perform some live music who lives in the Vale, or is connected to the Vale? 
If you can answer yes to any of these questions, or you have more to suggest, please speak to Ruth, or email her this week! 

Confirmation service and bring and share lunch

On Sunday 3rd July we are having a bring and share lunch after the confirmation service for Kyra and Anna.
Please let Ruth or Shirley know what you plan to bring along to the meal.  

To help us generate less waste, would you be able to bring a travel mug / reusable coffee cup to church each Sunday?
If you can, it will save us throwing away cups.
We are not really able to wash up mugs easily at the moment, so every reusable cup you bring along will help us care for the planet (and save a bit of money). 
If you forget, we’ll still provide you with a drink!

Single? Married? Once married? Never married?
Married for years? Married for months?
Would you be interested in learning more about singleness and marriage? Discussing the ups and downs of all the different relationships we find ourselves in through life?
The pros and the cons of each state? 
Would a short course be helpful? A Saturday mini conference?
A one off study? 
Talk to Ian with your thoughts, and look out for the preference form where you can say what times and places would work best for you so that as a church family we can think through these important issues in small groups, couples, or….what do you think?  

September 10th Holy Redeemer 90 year Jubilee

Posted by admin on 25th May 2022

On Saturday September 10th the church is holding a Jubilee anniversary of its own.
The community choir are going to sing, there will be family games, a display on the history and the future of the church, a sing along session for parents and under 5s, BBQ, cakes and live music. More to follow.
For now, save the date, and get ready to celebrate 90 years of Holy Redeemer in Streatham Vale.

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