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Contents
 Minister's Letter
The Inclusive Church
Christina does the Park
Church Diary June - August
Key Dates for the Rest of 2007
Friendship Club
The Lakher Pioneer Mission Centenary, 2007
Ten Commandments For Life Today
Abe's Day Off
Happy Landings, Nick and Helen
Closing date for articles for August/September Newsletter: Sunday morning 22nd August.
The webmaster apologises for late appearance of the Newsletter on this site, due to pressure of work. |
Minister's Letter
Dear Friends,
Dear Friends, We have just witnessed the most wonderful season of the church's year, at Pentecost, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of wisdom, power, love and might. Jesus has given the Disciples the command to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit, and they probably waited in the same building as Jesus held His last supper.
When the day of Pentecost had fully come, as Acts 2:1 tells us, the disciples were just waiting for something to happen. And it did! The power of Jesus came upon them and they went out to tell the wonderful news of the Kingdom of God. In the "Acts of the Apostles" we can read the Sermon preached by Peter on the "birthday of the church", as the day of Pentecost is usually called.
But you say, "we are living in different days" surely we are more sophisticated than the early Church and the people from all over the Jewish world who were in Jerusalem in that spring many years ago? What sort of impact can this message and the fact of the power of the Holy Spirit have on our world today?
To find the answer to these questions we need to look again at one of the factors of the first day of Pentecost, and one of the major factors of that day is "transformation". God has transformed the timid frightened disciples into powerful preachers and teachers who were unafraid of what human authorities could do to them.
Today we are living in days when God still does transform people, and we as a Church are still in the business of changing people's lives – and this still does happen! Even where we are here in our local Church, God is still working amongst us, and there and many who would testify to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. As we pray and work and preach and teach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, God is still changing lives, and it is happening at this moment! This message is not just for yesteryear but for today. We really believe that God is still in the business of changing people's lives, and we need to have faith like the disciples on the first day of Pentecost, all those years ago.
May God bless us all as we go forward with Him in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Yours sincerely
Revd John Taylor |
The Inclusive Church
Our Tuesday Bible Study Group has commenced on a study of Galatians, and at the very beginning of the book St Paul is at his best. You would never call Saul of Tarsus (as he was formerly called) a shy and retiring type because he always "told it as it is", as we say today.
There were those in Galatia who had decided who was "in" and who was "out". Those who comment on the scriptures call them the "Judaisers", people in the New Testament world who could not turn their backs on all the laws and precepts of Judaism, including circumcision. There were many things they said you needed to do before becoming a member of the Church. We along with St Paul would say to these people, "By grace are we saved through faith, it is the gift of God". GRACE (God's Riches At Christ's Expense), is all that we need to enter into the Kingdom of God; there are no other entrance criteria.
In the New Testament world the Church would have been the only institution open to both slaves and emperors, a truly inclusive and democratic Church, based on true congregational lines. Those people with a background in Judaism in the Church in Galatia operated a policy of discrimination against non-Jewish people who were not prepared to tow their particular line. Even Peter was drawn into the controversy later on, at one time eating a shared meal with all the church, and then deciding just to share a meal with those from a Jewish background.
St Paul is strong in his condemnation of those who try to make rules and regulations about such matters and who completely ignore the active Grace of God, who is calling all people into the Kingdom of God. No matter what their ethnic background, their sexual orientation or social standing, or whatever they have done in the past, the Kingdom of God is open to all who call upon the Name of the Lord.
The words of St Paul ring out to us across the centuries to encourage us to open our arms of love to all who come to the Church for whatever reason. Jesus went out of His way to welcome everyone into the Kingdom of God. He asked them to repent of the past and to live for the present and the future. Here in the time of Pentecost, at the coming of the Holy Spirit "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come" (Acts 2) the message of the Gospel was heard by so many people, in their own languages.
This is the message that is offered to all today, the wonderful message of God's grace, which is as we would say today "free at the point of entry".
John Taylor |
Christina does the Park
On Sunday 6 May, I ran and completed the 5km Race for Life at Crystal Palace Park, in aid of Cancer Research UK. I and my 5 team mates – Karen, Caryn, Anne, Anna and Jo all set off together, and although we ran at different paces and finished at different times, we all had a great time taking part and have collectively raised over £1500 for the charity. I, despite doing approximately no training (unless running for the odd bus counts?) managed to run the first kilometre and the last kilometre, and walked the 3 in the middle. It took me exactly 50 minutes to cross the finish line, where the rest of my team was waiting for me, having all finished the race at least 10 minutes earlier!
I'd like to send out a HUGE thank you to everyone at PCC who has sponsored and supported me over the past few weeks. You've helped me to raise over £150, and the money you have donated has gone to an excellent cause.
Next stop – The London Marathon! I think I might actually have to do some training for that one... |  |
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Church Diary June - July
Saturday 2nd June
10am-12noon Pyramid Rock Club for children
7.30pm Murder Mystery Evening. Tickets £5 to include a sausage and mash supper
Sunday 3rd June
10.30am Morning Worship: The Minister
12.30pm Church lunch
1.30pm Church AGM
6.30pm Evening Worship and Holy Communion: The Minister
Tuesday 5th June
7.30pm Bible Study 10 Kenilworth Road
Saturday 9th Outreach to the Homeless
All donations of food, clothing and toiletries should be brought to the Kenilworth Hall early in the morning
Sunday 10th June
Morning Worship: Revd Dr Alan Argent
Evening Worship: The Minister
Retiring collection for London Catalyst (formerly Metropolitan Hospitals' Sunday Fund)
Tuesday 12th June
7.30pm Bible Study, 10 Kenilworth Road
Thursday 14th June
7.45pm Deacons' Meeting
Sunday 17th June
10.30am Morning Worship and Holy Communion: The Minister
6.30pm Evening Worship: The Minister
Tuesday 19th June
7.30pm Bible Study, 10 Kenilworth Road
Saturday 23rd June
South East Area Summer Event, Isleworth Congregational Church
Sunday 24th June
10.30am Morning Worship: The Minister
6.30pm Evening Worship: The Minister
Tuesday 26th June
7.30pm Bible Study, 10 Kenilworth Road
Wednesday 27th June
7.45pm Church Meeting
Sunday 1st July
10.30am Morning Worship: The Minister
6.30pm Evening Worship and Holy Communion: The Minister
Tuesday 3rd July
7.30pm Bible Study, 10 Kenilworth Road
Saturday 7th July
10am-12 noon Pyramid Rock Club for children. Kenilworth Hall
Sunday 8th July
10.30am Morning Worship: The Minister
6.30pm Evening Worship: The Minister
Tuesday 10th July
7.30pm Bible Study, 10 Kenilworth Road
Saturday 14th July Outreach to the Homeless
All donations of food, clothing and toiletries should be brought to the Kenilworth Hall early in the morning
Sunday 15th July
10.30am Morning Worship and Holy Communion: The Minister
6.30pm Evening Worship: The Minister
Tuesday 17th July
7.30pm Bible Study, 10Kenilworth Road
Thursday 19th July
7.45pm Deacons' Meeting
Sunday 22nd July
10.30am Morning Worship: The Minister
6.30pm Evening Worship: The Minister
Tuesday 24th July
7.30pm Bible Study, 10 Kenilworth Road
Wednesday 25th July
7.45pm Church Meeting
Saturday 28th July
Wedding in the Church
Sunday 29th July
10.30am Morning Worship: The Minister
6.30pm Evening Worship: The Minister |
Key Dates for the Rest of 2007
20-24th August
10am-12noon Holiday Club
14th October
10.30am Harvest Festival. Parade Service
4th November Church Day and Autumn Gift Day
John and Ann Nockels will be joining us for this weekend
Sunday 11th November – Remembrance Day
10.30am Parade Service
Sunday 9th December
10.30am Nativity Service
9th December
10.30am Toy Service, Parade Service
23rd December
10.30am Nativity Service
6.30pm Carols by Candlelight
24th December
11.30pm Midnight Communion
25th December
10.30am Christmas Family Service
Pyramid Rock Club for Children aged 5 to 12 continues to meet on the first Saturday of each month and will meet on:
Saturday 7 April
Saturday 5 May
Saturday 2 June
We meet in the Kenilworth Hall from 10am to 12 noon for crafts, games, songs, Bible stories, puzzles and lots of fun. Please come along and join in. |
Friendship Club
These are the dates for the next few meetings of Friendship Club:
Wed 6th June at 2:15pm
Wed 27th June at 2:15pm
Wed 11th July at 2:15pm
All ladies are welcome. |
The Lakher Pioneer Mission Centenary, 2007
Concluding part four
The 50th anniversary celebrations lasted four days beginning on Thursday 26th September 1957. The Jubilee Bell was rung, the story of the coming of the Missionaries told by Thadu who had helped with Bible translation, choirs aged from schoolchildren upwards performed musical items, a feast was held, and a commemoration stone was unveiled. Unusually in missionary circles, one of the founders, Maud Lorrain, was still there to see it all – if they had worked for one of the major mission societies, the missionaries would have been moved around over the years. Failing health prevented her from attending the church services, so the choirs repeated their performances by lamplight on her bungalow veranda. |  |
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| It was reported that over the 50 years, 17,098 Lakhers plus over 2,000 from other tribes had put their names down as Christian Learners, 10,628 had received adult baptism, 3,425 Christian marriages had been celebrated, and 6,518 children dedicated (despite their Congregational origins, they did not practice infant baptism). There were now 12 Pastors and 100 villages each had their own Church in the charge of a Lay Preacher. [Photo: Bruce and 11 Pastors, 1957.] |  |
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PCC mirrored the celebrations with a meeting on the evening of 26th September attended by 100 of the Mission's supporters from all over London. There was an exhibition of photographs and curios followed by a talk by a former Baptist missionary to north India, and the Minister, The Revd Harold Shorthouse, conducted a service which included all the hymns and readings used earlier that day in Lakherland.
The following years were not to be easy. On the Indian side of the border, action by Mizo National Front independence fighters caused the Mission to be cut off for months. On the Burmese side the communist government created bureaucratic difficulties for Churches. The border was eventually closed, but by then the Mara Church there was self-supporting. Pests attacked the rice crop causing famine, and cyclones wreaked destruction. The Indian government opened some hospitals but later withdrew all their assistant surgeons, throwing medical care back to the Mission. Maud continued dispensing medicine up to her death aged 85 on 23rd May 1960. |
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 The Mission was then in the hands of Bruce and Tlosai Lorrain-Foxall and their daughter, Violet [photo 1960]. Tlosai died on 21st June 1968, a lamented loss of the person who from the day of her birth played such a tremendous part in the work of the Mission. In December 1968, Violet married Mark Lapi, a teacher who later became the Principal of the Mara High School in Serkawr. Their first child, Freddie, was born prematurely in Bridgnorth while they were in this country on furlough in 1970. Unlike Reginald Lorrain, Bruce had no formal medical training, but learned by experience to prescribe and dispense medicine, give injections, extract teeth, deliver babies, and perform minor operations. His other major activity was the revision of the Lakher Bible. Their work was now separate from the Mara Independent Evangelical Church which was run by local people.
In 1973, PCC decided to buy a jeep for the Mission, as following a leg injury Bruce was having to be carried everywhere. The money was raised quickly by members of the Church and its organisations and the jeep purchased, but it was not until April 1976 that the road into Serkawr was made passable.
Bruce died on 2nd July 1977, almost 50 years after he had first joined the Mission. By this time the Indian government had forbidden the entry of any more Christian missionaries, indeed, it was exceptional that the Lorrain-Foxalls had been allowed to stay. Therefore the Mission closed in June 1978. But its work was truly complete for by now all but a few hundred of the population of 20,000 were Christians and there were a thriving Mara Churches in both India and Burma.
A majority of members of the Church preferred to cease contact with the West, and PCC heard no more until 1989 when a number broke away to form the Congregational Church of India (Maraland) with Mark as its General Secretary. It is at his invitation that our Minister, Revd John Taylor, will be one of those going to the Maraland Church's centenary celebrations this September, and no doubt we shall hear much more on his return.
The Congregational Federation's Revd Dr Janet Wootton has visited the region in the last few years and found that the people's greatest needs are for a medical clinic and theological training. Bunyan Meeting Church and PCC are already fund-raising for this. |
Ten Commandments For Life Today
1. Speak to people. There is nothing as nice as a cheerful greeting.
2. Call people by name – not names. The sweetest music is to hear one's name called.
3. Have humility. There is something to be learned from every living thing.
4. Be friendly. If you have a friend – be one.
5. Be cordial. Speak and act as if everything you do is a pleasure.
6. Be interested in others, you can like almost anybody if you try.
7. Be generous with praise, and cautious with criticism.
8. Give your word, then keep it.
9. Be considerate to the feelings of others.
10. Be alert to give service. What counts most in life is what we do for others. |
Abe's Day Off
Abe was in a bad mood. And this was strange, since Abe had the day off. But it was raining. It wasn't what you could call a deluge, but the cold wind spat freezing water into his face, stinging his cheeks and making it impossible to look straight ahead. The traffic was abominable. He had met someone he knew, and it would have been so pleasant to pass the time of day, but the wind and the traffic swallowed his words. She had smiled at him in an apologetic way, and passed on. He thought she didn't want to intrude. When he tried to resume his walk up the high street, he was spun around and found himself facing an oncoming bus. He leapt to safety. It was too late to shout abuse at the culprit. He was past the bus stop already and hadn't even noticed bringing someone within an inch of eternity. He was probably hurrying to work.
Everyone was. They all had somewhere to go. In a hurry. They all had so much to do. So little time. They didn't see him at all. He had no where to go, nothing to do. And it was raining. On his day off. He swore quietly and turned into an alley to smoke. Couldn't smoke with a clear conscience though, could you? It was good to get away from all those busy people, the creeping traffic, the rain, the cold. On his day off! He swore quietly and turned into an alley. He needed a quiet place to smoke. Couldn't smoke in the open any more could you? Anyway, he just needed to get away from all those busy people, the endless traffic, the cold, the rain. On his day off! He began searching his pockets for his cigarettes and then stopped. He had heard a blackbird. Funny thing how the sound cut through all the noise of the traffic. He looked around to find it. There it was, a black silhouette against the slate grey sky, and as the bird turned its head the yellow beak winked on like a luminous shop sign. Then it was gone. He looked down the alley. It wasn't half bad you know. There were flowers all over the place, cascading down rickety wooden fences, bridging the narrow path, and transforming the dull light to colours of rose, flaming orange and brittle white patterns of lace. He decided to take that way to the hardware store. He was on his way to buy a garden rake. Then he thought he shouldn't waste too much time. Besides he wanted to stop for a coffee and an apple Danish on the way back. Just as he turned back, he saw a small shoe sliding into view just at the end of the fence. It was followed by a pair of green Bermuda shorts. Then they both disappeared again. He walked to the end of the fence and peered around the end post. It was a little girl with her face almost inside a small drain. She was peering at something between the gratings. She looked up at him and said, "It's Mum's cross. I can see it, I can't get it out. She's really upset."
He motioned her to move out of the way, got down on his knees and had a look. A brief flash of silver caught his eye – and then he saw it. It looked ridiculously clean and neat under all that dirty water. He knew he couldn't reach it. But he had an idea. Being an incorrigible hoarder, he still had the free chopsticks from last night's Chinese takeaway in his pocket. He improvised a neat pair of tweezers with these, poked them delicately between the gratings and ... victory! He handed the little girl his trophy. Mum came through the wicket gate just then and her face lit up at the sight of her treasure shining in her daughter's hand. "Oh that's ever so kind of you," she enthused, "Please let me give you a cup of tea for all your trouble." Well the hardware store would just have to wait a bit longer.
Chris McShane |
Happy Landings, Nick and Helen
Nick and Helen Cole are almost on their way to France. But as they say they are "just across the pond". So if you're a good swimmer, you could visit them (as long as you take some dry clothes. A more comfortable option is to fly or take the ferry. You could even use the Chunnel. We are going to miss the rambles though. Maybe we could arrange our rambles in France. We'll be in touch. Safe journey to your new home. |
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