Post by John on Jan 18, 2015 18:20:09 GMT -5
THE CHURCHES TOGETHER IN SAFFRON WALDEN
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Annual United Service on January 18th 2015
was held at the Saffron Walden Baptist Church
/////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Their Minister Revd John Goddard welcomed the Christians present together from all the various congregations of the Church in Saffron Walden
John Goddard as Chairman of Churches Together in Saffron Walden drew our attention to this being the Annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and that we marked that with the Agape Meal which would be at the Society of Friends meeting house on Thursday evening at 7.30pm. Anyone intending to go please let Jackie Bartlett know via 01799 526050 or jaybee@phonercoop.coop
We were then reminded of the Annual Holocaust Day Service on Jan 26 when students from local schools would be present and he urged as many as could to attend. This year the focus will be upon the Democratic Republic of Congo
saying that few of us realise that the Civil war raging there for many years as an act of genocide had resulted in the death of over 5,700.000 Congolese citizens and that from that event cards would be sent to Christians surviving there and it was explained how we could obtain a card to send.
GED PEARCE Baptist Church Secretary and Worship Leader introducing the Service led us in a modern version of the LORD'S PRAYER
We sang our opening Hymn
FAR AND NEAR, HEAR THE CALL
Written by Graham Kendrick Copyright © 1996 Make Way Music, www.grahamkendrick.co.uk
Far and near hear the call
Worship him, Lord of all
Families of nations come
Celebrate what God has done
Deep and wide is the love
Heaven sent from above
God's own Son for sinners died
Rose again, he is alive
Say it loud, say it strong
Tell the world what God has done
Say it loud, praise his name
Let the earth rejoice
For the Lord reigns
At his name let praise begin
Oceans roar, nature sing
For he comes to judge the earth
In righteousness and in his truth
Then ANDREW HEINRICH reported on the ongoing mentoring project that 7 mentors were trained and operational and 7 mentees paired with them. Please continue to pray for the success of this work.
John Goddard welcomed 7 volunteers from the children present to the platform and gave them each a different coloured , ribbon and suggested that we were going to do an experiment to see which Church Jesus loves best, so the different churches in the town were given a colour each [ except the Church that alas is no longer a member of CTSW which we should never forget is with us all part of the Church of Saffron Walden. Each ribbon was placed in a change bag and then Jonathan Burton had to draw a ribbon out and he did so by drawing out all the ribbons joined together. One maybe sceptical youngster remarked that the stitching looked hastily done and was told that the pixie in the bag had to sew very quickly. Those who know anything about illusion will know that a change bag contains more than one pocket.
It was reported that Margaret Snowdon had stood down from being General Secretary and regretfully was absent from the event. The new General Secretary is Rosemary Timms.
The Offering was take up and the loose offering was to be divided between Stort Valley Schools Trust and Christian Aid
The hymn was sung “ Blessed be your Name”
written by Matt Redman
Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The Children left for their Groups
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
We sang
Crown Him with many crowns
by Matthew Bridges, 1800-1894, and Godfrey Thring, 1823-1903
Crown him with many crowns,
the Lamb upon his throne,
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless King
through all eternity.
2. Crown him the Lord of life,
who triumphed o'er the grave,
and rose victorious in the strife
for those he came to save.
His glories now we sing,
who died, and rose on high,
who died, eternal life to bring,
and lives that death may die.
3. Crown him the Lord of peace,
whose power a sceptre sways
from pole to pole, that wars may cease,
and all be prayer and praise.
His reign shall know no end,
and round his pierced feet
fair flowers of paradise extend
their fragrance ever sweet.
4. Crown him the Lord of love;
behold his hands and side,
those wounds, yet visible above,
in beauty glorified.
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
For thou hast died for me;
thy praise and glory shall not fail
throughout eternity.
Some of the Church Leaders gathered to share a Prayer Together each leading part of it Thus included the retiring Chairman John Capper, the present Chairman, John Goddard and the Deputy Chair next year's Chairman, Jonathan Burton, minister of Gold Street Chapel [ soon to move to Castle Street ],
along with Captain Carol Baker of the Salvation Army and David Tomlinson Rector of Saint Mary's.
We were advised that Revd Roy Fowler minister of Abbey Lane Church was leading worship elsewhere as he has 4 churches to supply.
John Goddard then read
MARK 8 verses 27 – 30
“Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets."
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Peter answered, "You are the Christ."
Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.”
John went on to say that JESUS asked questions as a way of opening up discussion.
John suggested that if David Tomlinson announced that he and his clergy team were arranging a Pilgrimage to Walsingham a few heads would nod and a few eyebrows might be raised
if the United Reformed Church and Methodist Church decided to visit Clare Priory but there would be real alarm if John Goddard and his deacons announced they were going to visit Las Vegas –
Because we all associate such places with their reputation despite fact that the Baptists might be going to visit a down town evangelistic seminar or conference
John had once been close to Las Vegas – Sin City. As a younger man he had gone to a SHONA out in the desert unaware that as it was Thanksgiving Day accommodation would be scarce and he was faced with going 70 miles one way to the City or some miles the other way to a small town. He chose the latter.
So the disciples must have been concerned when Jesus spoke to them e of visiting Caesarea Philippi. No Jewish parent would allow his sons near the place. It was a pagan city, a place where 3 major pagan gods were worshipped; a placed described as The Gates of Hell. Not a place to take disciples.
As they travelled Jesus had asked “Who do men say that I am?”
Some replied “John the Baptist who represented the old way of repentance and faith.
Others said “Elijah, that mystical Old Testament prophet who it was affirmed had not died but had been whisked away by God to Heaven
or “One of the other prophets”
But he responded with “ But who do you say that I am?”
Peter, always ready to speak up even if he put his foot in his mouth doing so replied “ You are the MESSIAH, the Anointed One”
John asked the rhetorical question “How many of us present recalled watching on small screened black and white TV the Archbishop of Canterbury anointing our Queen with oil at the Coronation Service [ 1953 ], some years before he himself was born?”.
The Anointed One - this is the title of a Monarch in this case of the King of Kings anointed by God
Peter's eyes had begun to open as to who Jesus really was
The one long awaited.
On Facebook what answers would your friends say, and what about your friend's “friends”?
One last week described God as “the Jesus people's invisible best friend “[ an insult] Another often refers to him as the tooth fairy.
John described his old bedroom at home in Derbyshire and that when he went to university it ceased to be his as his younger brother moved in and changed everything with masses of Black and Flesh posters of Rock bands. But there was in one small familiar gap above the bed, a framed picture of Jesus. That had hung there for years since he was about 5, all through John's teenage years as an atheist and anarchist.
The picture was always there and his brother saw no reason to remove it either
In emergencies it served as a reminder an example of views no longer held today
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
as an individual
as a local church
as Churches Together in Saffron Walden
CHRIST is not just a title, or a surname . But a designation:- The Anointed King of Heaven and Earth, which is not in line with modern beliefs.
We have had so many movements of Church unity over the years that he is still longing for when we all could just meet together as one all the time.
Can we agree to unite around the Jesus we all name and follow?
We are His. He was incarnate, he became one of us. He calls us to unite with Him.
We watched a video clip from the film Spartacus where a Roman centurion addresses the whole crowd of prisoner slaves that had rebelled assuring them that they would not all be crucified if they would just name which of them was Spartacus.
One by one they each rose to declare “I am Spartacus” until they were all on their feet saying the same; much as last week across France and across Earth lots of people were declaring themselves as “Je Suis Charlie” I am Charlie, associating themselves with the assassinated cartoonist of the satirical magazine martyred by criminal Islamists.
We too may declare “I AM CHRIST”
We are the Church of Christ in all it's variety and diversity.
All identified with Him
All in this together
WE ARE ALL CHRIST
We may here Christ questioned today People suggesting that The Church is finished! No one believes now. It is a mediaeval irrelevance.
We believe. Jesus is as generous as ever. More relevant than ever.
We / you - are needed today.
“Come Lord Jesus Christ by the power of your Holy Spirit. Make us what we in truth are. One indestructible endurable Church.
The Closing Hymn associated us with a time when the Church in Britain was one united communion - the British Celtic Church.
Be Thou My Vision
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art;
Thou my best thought, by day or by night;
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light
Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father and I, Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise;
Thou mine inheritance, now and always;
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart;
O King of glory, my treasure Thou art.
O King of glory, my victory won;
Rule and reign in me ’til Thy will be done;
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall;
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
THE BLESSING was pronounced and we gathered for refreshments and fellowship
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Annual United Service on January 18th 2015
was held at the Saffron Walden Baptist Church
/////////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Their Minister Revd John Goddard welcomed the Christians present together from all the various congregations of the Church in Saffron Walden
John Goddard as Chairman of Churches Together in Saffron Walden drew our attention to this being the Annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and that we marked that with the Agape Meal which would be at the Society of Friends meeting house on Thursday evening at 7.30pm. Anyone intending to go please let Jackie Bartlett know via 01799 526050 or jaybee@phonercoop.coop
We were then reminded of the Annual Holocaust Day Service on Jan 26 when students from local schools would be present and he urged as many as could to attend. This year the focus will be upon the Democratic Republic of Congo
saying that few of us realise that the Civil war raging there for many years as an act of genocide had resulted in the death of over 5,700.000 Congolese citizens and that from that event cards would be sent to Christians surviving there and it was explained how we could obtain a card to send.
GED PEARCE Baptist Church Secretary and Worship Leader introducing the Service led us in a modern version of the LORD'S PRAYER
We sang our opening Hymn
FAR AND NEAR, HEAR THE CALL
Written by Graham Kendrick Copyright © 1996 Make Way Music, www.grahamkendrick.co.uk
Far and near hear the call
Worship him, Lord of all
Families of nations come
Celebrate what God has done
Deep and wide is the love
Heaven sent from above
God's own Son for sinners died
Rose again, he is alive
Say it loud, say it strong
Tell the world what God has done
Say it loud, praise his name
Let the earth rejoice
For the Lord reigns
At his name let praise begin
Oceans roar, nature sing
For he comes to judge the earth
In righteousness and in his truth
Then ANDREW HEINRICH reported on the ongoing mentoring project that 7 mentors were trained and operational and 7 mentees paired with them. Please continue to pray for the success of this work.
John Goddard welcomed 7 volunteers from the children present to the platform and gave them each a different coloured , ribbon and suggested that we were going to do an experiment to see which Church Jesus loves best, so the different churches in the town were given a colour each [ except the Church that alas is no longer a member of CTSW which we should never forget is with us all part of the Church of Saffron Walden. Each ribbon was placed in a change bag and then Jonathan Burton had to draw a ribbon out and he did so by drawing out all the ribbons joined together. One maybe sceptical youngster remarked that the stitching looked hastily done and was told that the pixie in the bag had to sew very quickly. Those who know anything about illusion will know that a change bag contains more than one pocket.
It was reported that Margaret Snowdon had stood down from being General Secretary and regretfully was absent from the event. The new General Secretary is Rosemary Timms.
The Offering was take up and the loose offering was to be divided between Stort Valley Schools Trust and Christian Aid
The hymn was sung “ Blessed be your Name”
written by Matt Redman
Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The Children left for their Groups
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////
We sang
Crown Him with many crowns
by Matthew Bridges, 1800-1894, and Godfrey Thring, 1823-1903
Crown him with many crowns,
the Lamb upon his throne,
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns
all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing
of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless King
through all eternity.
2. Crown him the Lord of life,
who triumphed o'er the grave,
and rose victorious in the strife
for those he came to save.
His glories now we sing,
who died, and rose on high,
who died, eternal life to bring,
and lives that death may die.
3. Crown him the Lord of peace,
whose power a sceptre sways
from pole to pole, that wars may cease,
and all be prayer and praise.
His reign shall know no end,
and round his pierced feet
fair flowers of paradise extend
their fragrance ever sweet.
4. Crown him the Lord of love;
behold his hands and side,
those wounds, yet visible above,
in beauty glorified.
All hail, Redeemer, hail!
For thou hast died for me;
thy praise and glory shall not fail
throughout eternity.
Some of the Church Leaders gathered to share a Prayer Together each leading part of it Thus included the retiring Chairman John Capper, the present Chairman, John Goddard and the Deputy Chair next year's Chairman, Jonathan Burton, minister of Gold Street Chapel [ soon to move to Castle Street ],
along with Captain Carol Baker of the Salvation Army and David Tomlinson Rector of Saint Mary's.
We were advised that Revd Roy Fowler minister of Abbey Lane Church was leading worship elsewhere as he has 4 churches to supply.
John Goddard then read
MARK 8 verses 27 – 30
“Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets."
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Peter answered, "You are the Christ."
Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.”
John went on to say that JESUS asked questions as a way of opening up discussion.
John suggested that if David Tomlinson announced that he and his clergy team were arranging a Pilgrimage to Walsingham a few heads would nod and a few eyebrows might be raised
if the United Reformed Church and Methodist Church decided to visit Clare Priory but there would be real alarm if John Goddard and his deacons announced they were going to visit Las Vegas –
Because we all associate such places with their reputation despite fact that the Baptists might be going to visit a down town evangelistic seminar or conference
John had once been close to Las Vegas – Sin City. As a younger man he had gone to a SHONA out in the desert unaware that as it was Thanksgiving Day accommodation would be scarce and he was faced with going 70 miles one way to the City or some miles the other way to a small town. He chose the latter.
So the disciples must have been concerned when Jesus spoke to them e of visiting Caesarea Philippi. No Jewish parent would allow his sons near the place. It was a pagan city, a place where 3 major pagan gods were worshipped; a placed described as The Gates of Hell. Not a place to take disciples.
As they travelled Jesus had asked “Who do men say that I am?”
Some replied “John the Baptist who represented the old way of repentance and faith.
Others said “Elijah, that mystical Old Testament prophet who it was affirmed had not died but had been whisked away by God to Heaven
or “One of the other prophets”
But he responded with “ But who do you say that I am?”
Peter, always ready to speak up even if he put his foot in his mouth doing so replied “ You are the MESSIAH, the Anointed One”
John asked the rhetorical question “How many of us present recalled watching on small screened black and white TV the Archbishop of Canterbury anointing our Queen with oil at the Coronation Service [ 1953 ], some years before he himself was born?”.
The Anointed One - this is the title of a Monarch in this case of the King of Kings anointed by God
Peter's eyes had begun to open as to who Jesus really was
The one long awaited.
On Facebook what answers would your friends say, and what about your friend's “friends”?
One last week described God as “the Jesus people's invisible best friend “[ an insult] Another often refers to him as the tooth fairy.
John described his old bedroom at home in Derbyshire and that when he went to university it ceased to be his as his younger brother moved in and changed everything with masses of Black and Flesh posters of Rock bands. But there was in one small familiar gap above the bed, a framed picture of Jesus. That had hung there for years since he was about 5, all through John's teenage years as an atheist and anarchist.
The picture was always there and his brother saw no reason to remove it either
In emergencies it served as a reminder an example of views no longer held today
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
as an individual
as a local church
as Churches Together in Saffron Walden
CHRIST is not just a title, or a surname . But a designation:- The Anointed King of Heaven and Earth, which is not in line with modern beliefs.
We have had so many movements of Church unity over the years that he is still longing for when we all could just meet together as one all the time.
Can we agree to unite around the Jesus we all name and follow?
We are His. He was incarnate, he became one of us. He calls us to unite with Him.
We watched a video clip from the film Spartacus where a Roman centurion addresses the whole crowd of prisoner slaves that had rebelled assuring them that they would not all be crucified if they would just name which of them was Spartacus.
One by one they each rose to declare “I am Spartacus” until they were all on their feet saying the same; much as last week across France and across Earth lots of people were declaring themselves as “Je Suis Charlie” I am Charlie, associating themselves with the assassinated cartoonist of the satirical magazine martyred by criminal Islamists.
We too may declare “I AM CHRIST”
We are the Church of Christ in all it's variety and diversity.
All identified with Him
All in this together
WE ARE ALL CHRIST
We may here Christ questioned today People suggesting that The Church is finished! No one believes now. It is a mediaeval irrelevance.
We believe. Jesus is as generous as ever. More relevant than ever.
We / you - are needed today.
“Come Lord Jesus Christ by the power of your Holy Spirit. Make us what we in truth are. One indestructible endurable Church.
The Closing Hymn associated us with a time when the Church in Britain was one united communion - the British Celtic Church.
Be Thou My Vision
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art;
Thou my best thought, by day or by night;
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light
Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father and I, Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise;
Thou mine inheritance, now and always;
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart;
O King of glory, my treasure Thou art.
O King of glory, my victory won;
Rule and reign in me ’til Thy will be done;
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall;
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
THE BLESSING was pronounced and we gathered for refreshments and fellowship
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////