Newsletter June-August 2014
From the Manse
Dear All,
What can I possibly say in my last letter as your minister?
Although I have to admit I have often said that St Paul seems a bit of a workaholic and perfectionist and that I would not want to be in one of his churches, I do none the less think he has given us a good model in four elements we so often see in his letters.
Thankfulness. For God’s grace, for creation, and for one another. Have you ever had a Christmas or birthday present that you weren’t too sure if you liked? Someone once told me that he saw me as such a gift from God, but decided to accept the gift and make the most of it. He has since said that he felt maybe God was right. All people are gifts, sometimes not the gift we would choose, but gifts from God none the less. And all the circumstances of our lives can also contain gifts. Even in grief, we can receive the gift of comfort.
Encouragement. It takes seven positive statements to equal one negative one. And yet somehow it always seems easier to remember to complain than to encourage. We need to think carefully before speaking, and to make sure that the positive things are said more than the negative.
Watch out for one another. We are called to watch over one another spiritually, and give a warning when we think there is danger, but I think this extremely difficult to get right. It can so easily slip into criticism or judgement. So, as I believe the greatest danger is when we become complacent in worship, study of scripture, and prayer, the best way to avoid needing to issue any warnings is to support each other in these activities as we travel together with God.
Prayer. We are called to be a people of intercession, for our world and for the place where God has put us. But we are also to pray for wisdom and understanding. And most important of all we are called to have a relationship with God, and prayer is the means of communication.
As we approach Pentecost, often described as the birthday of the Christian Church, I think I could not do better than copy St Paul.
So, I do indeed Thank God for each of you and for your ministry to me and all those before me.
I want to encourage you in your ministry. I am very proud of the way that you have always tried to focus on mission and what you can do rather than sitting back and bemoaning the things that you haven’t the resources to do.
I can remind you one last time of the need for fervent bible study and prayer, especially prayer for wisdom in understanding God’s purpose for you as individuals and as a church.
And you will always be in my prayers. It is with very great affection that I commend you to God’s care in the years to come.
May God continue to bless you and may you continue to bless all who come to serve you as minister, and those who travel with you in the West Horsley Chapel fellowship.
Yours in Christ, Darlene
FAMILY NEWS
It is with sorrow that we report that Jean Warman died at the Sunrise Nursing Home, Peasmarsh on May 9th. Although very frail, she joined us, together with her son, at our Easter Sunday service. It was very good to see her and our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this very sad time. A service of Thanksgiving was held in our church on May 22nd followed by refreshments in the Wesley Room. As well as being a 'regular' on Sundays, Jean was a very enthusiastic member of the House Group and contributed with thoughtfulness and wisdom to our discussions.
We wish Arthur well as he continues treatment both at home and in hospital.
Frieda is now home from hospital and joined us for our Church lunch on May 15th. The lunch was a very convivial occasion and we thank all those who organised, cooked, waited on and generally made the day go well.
Renee has a special reason to celebrate D-Day. June 6th is her 98th birthday! Many congratulations from us all, Renee.
Keith now has his driving licence back and is pleased to be able to get about without relying on lifts
Tim Hart visited from Australia in April and Liz and Ted report that they had some good, family time; a wedding followed by the entire Hart clan decamping to the Isle of Wight for a holiday.
On the subject of travels, Jane is off to Townsville, Australia (look it up!) on June 19th to see her family. We wish her Bon Voyage and of course a safe return. Closer to home, the U3A cycle Group, including Bob and Celia, successfully completed a ride from Bristol to Horsley and managed to dodge most of the showers.
We are hoping, of course, for a summer of good weather and no doubt when the next newsletter is prepared, there will be more reports of travels to interesting places at home and abroad.
Local news
Farewell to Darlene
On Sunday 6th July there is a Circuit Service, incorporating a celebration of Darlene’s ministry, at 6.30, at Guildford St Mary’s. The preacher will be the Rev Rob Jones.
On Saturday August 9th we will have our own opportunity to wish Darlene well at a “drop-in” tea party in the Wesley Room from 2.00 – 5.00. Contributions for refreshments will be requested nearer the time.
Chapel Anniversary Weekend
We will be celebrating our 138th Chapel Anniversary on the weekend of 7th/8th June. On the Saturday we are holding a Songs of Praise Evening at 7.00 and on the Sunday our service will be led by the Revd Paul Hulme. This will be a Communion service ass we will also be celebrating Pentecost.
Church Discussion Meeting
You are all invited to participate in a church discussion on Sunday 20th July at 11.15, after a shortened Service. There will be two items for discussion:
- Same sex Marriage - The Methodist Conference has asked every congregation to comment and give their views on the question of whether the position of the Methodist Church needs revising. This will also include the question of conducting a service of blessing in churches after a civil partnership or same-sex marriage.
- “A Generous Life” is a Methodist Church initiative to encourage us to “engage with our generous God to give more time, more money and know more of what we are doing and can do to change the world.”
The meeting will conclude with a sandwich lunch.
Occasional Lunches The next lunches will be after the coffee mornings on Thursdays 17th July and 18th September.
The house group will be meeting on June 26th (Ethical Investment), July 24th (Darlene) and August 28th. See the notices for location.
ACTION FOR CHILDREN the children’s charity of the Methodist Church
AFC celebrate 145 years on Sunday 13th July.
The theme this year is ‘Bringing Hope’
During the month of June , we shall be carrying out our house-to-house collections for Action for Children. Our small group of loyal collectors raised £788-50 last year. There are roads which we are unable to cover and we would be most grateful for any help, even for an hour or so. Please see Ruth if you are interested.
AFC announces the appointment of a new Chief Executive, Sir Tony Hawkhead. He replaced Dame Claire Tickell in March. Tony was previously the Chief Executive of Groundwork UK, the environmental regeneration charity. Over his 17 years as Chief Executive Groundwork has grown into a charity with national reach across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Tony has also been Chief Executive for East London Partnership, and chaired the Stratford Development Agency, championing major improvements to that part of London and helping to pave the way for the London 2012 Olympic bid. He is a non-executive director at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Sir Tony Hawkhead says: “I’m honoured to be joining such an amazing charity, which does the most incredible work for the children and young people who need it most. At a time when pressures on those children, young people and their families have rarely been greater, the work that AFC staff and volunteers carry out is needed more than ever. I am looking forward to working with you all to take the charity forward to the next stage of its long history.”
Suzanne Burnham AFC Circuit Representative
Geoff Willott and the Willott family
We all enjoy hearing Geoff play so beautifully at our services each month. Geoff is one of four generations of the Willott family to have supported our Chapel. He has played the organ for us since the age of 16. The only break in this long service came when Geoff was away as a student at Sheffield University.
The first members of his family to support the Chapel were Charles and Martha Willott who moved from Epsom to Chalk Lane in about 1922 at the time when the Sunday School was being revived. Together with the Fryers, they became strong supporters of the Chapel. Charles Willott was a steward and his son Horace was sole organist for many years, playing at two services each Sunday until Geoff became his deputy at the age of 16. Alan, Geoff’s brother, remembers sitting under the organ stool doing colouring whilst his father played. The organ was then to the side of the pulpit so he would have been in full view of the congregation. Horace was also a steward and assistant in the Sunday School. He died in 1965.
Horace married Minnie née Templeton on 1st June 1935 in West Horsley Chapel, which had just been licensed for weddings. This was the first marriage to take place there. Minnie had moved to Horsley in service where she met Horace. She worked for a lawyer in Cobham Way and then for Martha Willott. Geoff has two of Minnie’s diaries where she records her regular attendance at Chapel with Horace. Minnie was a Chapel steward, the Women’s Meeting President and a class leader. She died in 1995 aged ninety three and is still remembered very fondly by those of our congregation who knew her.
Horace and Minnie had three sons Alan, Geoffrey and Derek who were baptised in the Chapel and attended the Sunday School and Youth Group. Alan was involved in producing the newsletters for the Youth Club and remembers wonderful teas served by the ladies. In 1960 Alan was married in our Chapel in a service conducted by the Reverend Flemington, with Geoff playing the organ. Derek took over the family farm, Manor Farm [now St Martin’s court]. He very sadly died at the age of fifty five.
Geoffrey was educated at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford and Sheffield University. He read Biology, and then spent three years as a research assistant in genetics. He became a distinguished forensic scientist writing learned articles and working in the Metropolitan Police Forensic Science Lab. Geoff married Dorothy Mary Holmes and they had two daughters who attended the Sunday School. Dorothy attended Chapel with Geoff and arranged flowers in the Chapel. Sadly she died in 2007. Geoff has five grandchildren. He is busy helping children at a local school with their reading and driving a bus. The Chapel has been very important in the life of Geoff’s family and we are all very appreciative that he continues to play for us in memory of his family.
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ST MARTIN’S GARDEN SAFARI
On Sunday 8th June a number of local gardens and the Lovelace Mausoleum will be open from 2.00 – 6.00. Cream teas will be served at the Church Rooms. Tickets, £5, and a map are available now from various shops in East Horsley – look out for the posters – and from the gardens on the day.
The Rector of St Martin’s , Elizabeth Bussmann will be leaving in June to take up a chaplaincy in Switzerland, nearer her family and grandchildren. Kerry Tucker is also leaving All Saints at Ockham soon. We wish them both well in their new ministries. A small presentation was made to both of them from Churches Together at a recent coffee morning.
Circuit News
FACE TO FACE - a series of conversation conducted by Paul Hulme at Godalming United Church on Sunday evenings at 6.30pm.
22nd June The Rt Revd Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury
13Th July The Very Revd Jane Hedges, appointed Dean of Norwich Cathedral
Whitechapel Mission There is to be another collection of items for the Whitechapel Mission at the end of June, mainly for men’s clothing but other items will also be needed. More details in the weekly notices.
GUILDFORD ST MARY’S EVENTS
Monthly coffee morning on 3rd Thursday of the month 10.30 – 12.00, 22nd May, 26th June and 24th July.
Cream tea on Tuesday 28th August from 14.30.
FUSION Meetings At 7.30, for refreshments:
21st May - The Islamic and Christian views of Mary
18th June - Desert Island Discs with Darlene McCarley
September - Meet Rev Claire Potter, our new circuit Superintendent.
Some 5 years ago, Alan Thorpe organised a circuit weekend away which was a great success. It was a good opportunity to make connections across the circuit and get to know people from other churches at a deeper level. Subsequently a number of the people who attended the weekend were keen not to lose the atmosphere of study and social contact, and wanted to set up a midweek meeting which would be both. Thus FUSION was born.
At the time it was set up the decision was made to keep it at one church so that people would always know where it would be, and that Guildford was the most central place for the churches.
However, over the years since there has been a decline in support from the churches both in attendance and organisation, and it has come to be more and more the responsibility of a very few. So the Circuit Meeting has agreed that the time has come when we must ask ourselves if it should continue. And in what form.
The last of the already organised Fusion meetings will be in September. If you feel it should continue beyond that then we need to set up a group of people with representatives from each church to be responsible for the planning and organisation. If you feel that you would be prepared to be a part of such a group please contact Darlene before the end of July.
Chit Chat is targeted at those from other countries living in Guildford who may be finding it difficult to cope with speaking English, or with the challenges of living away from their home country. The aim is to open St Mary’s on Wednesday mornings, from 10.00 – 11.30 serving refreshments and having a chat in a café-style setting. If you would like to help, please contact Susan Sneshall – susans@enta.net.
June
Monday 2nd 2.00 Bible Study in the Wesley Room
Saturday 7th 7.00 Songs of Praise
Sunday 8th 10.30 Chapel Anniversary with Rev Paul Hulme
From 1.00 St Martin’s Garden Safari
Monday 16th 2.00 Bible Study in the Wesley Room
Wed 8th 7.30 FUSION at St Mary’s, Darlene’s Desert Island Discs
Sunday 22nd 6.30 Face To Face at Godalming The Rt Revd Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury
Thursday 26th 7.00 House group – Ethical Investment
Monday 30th 2.00 Bible Study in the Wesley Room
July
Sunday 6th 6.30 Circuit Service Celebration for Darlene at Guildford St Mary’s.
Sunday 13th 6.30 Face to Face The Very Revd Jane Hedges, recently appointed Dean of Norwich Cathedral
Monday 14th 2.00 Bible Study in the Vestry
Sunday 20th 11.15 Discussion Meeting
Thursday 24th 7.00 House group – Darlene
Monday 28th 2.00 Bible Study in the Wesley Room
August
Saturday 9th 2.00 – 5.00 “Drop-in” farewell tea party for Darlene in the Wesley Room
Monday 11th 2.00 Bible Study in the Vestry
Monday 25th 2.00 Bible Study in the Wesley Room
Tuesday 26th 2.30 Cream tea at Guildford St Mary’s
Thursday 28th 7.00 House Group
September
Tuesday 2nd 7.30 Welcome service at Cranleigh for Revd Claire Potter, our new Superintendent