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FROM THE EDITOR

VICAR: The Rev Stephen Bowen

The Vicarage, Felbridge,West Sussex RH19 2QT

Tel: 01342 321524

Fax: 0870 9156268

[email protected]

Vicar’s day off: Thursday

ASSOCIATE MINISTER: Michael Peach

5 Burns Way, East Grinstead,

West Sussex RH19 1SA

Tel: 01342 312406

[email protected]

Michael’s day off: Friday

DECEMBER/JANUARY: Articles for this Issue to be handed in by

SUNDAY 13TH November

Please e-mail your articles to [email protected], put them in the editor’spigeon hole in the church entrance, or post them to Lindsey Saunders at TheBungalow, Saint Hill Farm, Saint Hill Green, East Grinstead, RH19 4NG.

Cover photo:

Amanita muscaria , or fly agaric, atWakehurst Place

Taken by Brenda Wilkinson

It was fun hearing the loud rustle as I

kicked up piles of dead leaves walkingalong the footpath to Weirwood Reservoir.

Unfortunately I didn’t see any of the

Long-toed Stint Peter mentions in

Felbridge Wildlife this month. But then, I

wasn’t looking for them! It’s not that myeyes weren’t open, though some say I do

walk around with my eyes closed! I was

simply looking at different things - funny

how something can be there but we don’tsee it unless we are looking in the right

place at the right time.

Babies believe that if they can’t see

something it is not there, but as we grow

up we know that just because we can’t see

it, does not mean that it isn’t there. Surely

then, as people who have all moved

through this developmental stage it should

be easy for us to believe in a Jesus who

lives in us? Yet lots of people still want to

see concrete proof. What better proof than

to see the effect of Jesus in people’s lives

just as we see the leaves blown off the

trees by the wind. Are we living lives that

reflect Jesus? That’s quite a responsibility,

isn’t it? Yet, we need not worry for God

said, ‘ My grace is sufficient for you, for my

power is made perfect in weakness.’

James Isaacs shares with us the effect of

Jesus in his life on page 19.

Lindsey Saunders

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STEPHEN WRITES…

DEAR FRIENDS,

There were once several villageshops in Felbridge, including a postoffice. We are very fortunate tohave one that is still open - and ofcourse the number of post offices

has been drastically reducedeverywhere.

When the news comes up thatsome local resource is going to beclosed, people are appalled. Theyhave a strong emotionalattachment to the local facility,whatever it happens to be. But it ishard sometimes to get people to

see that the very reason it isclosing is that their emotionalattachment never showed itself inpractical support - or hardly ever.

They never actually made use of it!They wanted it to be there - in caseone day they had a particularreason for going there. But inpractice, years passed without theirever darkening its doors. And thosewho were trying to keep the facilitygoing struggled more and more andeventually found that there was noalternative but to close.

It happens with shops, post offices,libraries…

And it can happen with churches.

Our village shop is not under threat.At the moment. Nor is St John’s.

But the old saying does apply: ‘Useit or lose it.’

On a world scale, the church ofJesus Christ is not under threat ofextinction, it is growingphenomenally.

But in the UK, things are morepatchy. Churches suffer from thepace of life and the pressurepeople are under. Sundays are nota protected day any more. If peoplewant to come they have to make areal counter-cultural effort. Theyhave to make specific decisionsthat their friends, neighbours and

family members are not making.

In some cases of course, people donot come because they do notbelieve. But many others would callthemselves Christians, and justassume that their local church willalways be there, waiting for the oddoccasion when they want to visit.

But unless people get stuck in andparticipate, it may not always bethe case that their village churchwill be there, functioning and readyto welcome them.

Use it or lose it

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Through the week at St. John’sSundays

8am Holy Communion on 13th & 27th November

10am Morning Service

6pm Evening Service

Tuesdays

1.30pm WI first Tuesday of the month in the Village Hall

Wednesdays

2pm Watercolour on Wednesdays in the Church Hall

1st Felbridge ( St John’s) Brownies

Thursdays

10.30am WIGS at the Old Pheasantry, Woodcock Hill

(home of June Clark)4-5pm Girls Bible Study in the Church Hall

7pm - 8.30pm JAFFA Plus in the Church hall on 3rd November

Fridays

1st Felbridge ( St John’s) Rainbows

1st Felbridge ( St John’s) Guides

Saturdays8am—9am Prayer breakfast on 5th November

8.30—10am Men’s breakfast on `19th November at 5 Burns Way

REGULAR EVENTS

Love in a boxShoe boxes need to be completed for the November Family

Service. Information on the contents needed for the Shoe boxes

is available. Pick up a leaflet at the back of Church.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING

Sunday Services6th November 10am FAMILY SERVICE with Michael Peach - Don’t

forget your love-in-a-box shoe boxes!

6pm HOLY COMMUNION with Stephen Bowen

13th November 8am HOLY COMMUNION with Stephen Bowen

10:50am Remembrance Service with Stephen Bowen.

Please note the new time for the above service.

6pm Evening Service with Michael Peach20th November 10am HOLY COMMUNION Service with Peter Davies

6pm RAISE THE ROOF with Cross Purpose

27th November 8am HOLY COMMUNION with Jack Baker

10am Morning Service with Stephen Bowen

6pm Evening Service with Stephen Bowen

Carols at The Wiremill – Singers Wanted

St John’s has been asked by The Wiremill to provide a choir for their CarolSinging evening. They have arranged this for Sunday evening, 11th December at 8 pm and they have several bookings for it already. We havethe Tree of Light Service that evening at 6.00 pm, but it will be possible to doboth events. The Wiremill will be providing us with mulled wine/hot chocolateand mince pies and a collection will be made for church funds.The plan is that we sing well known carols for up to an hour with a break in

the middle. Celia Esau will be accompanying us on the keyboard. Pleasegive your name to Gill Matson (313351 or [email protected] ) or to

Sheila Drury (323865 or [email protected] ) if you would like to

take part as a singer.

St John’s Church Christmas Fair

Saturday 26th November11am to 3pm

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THE WORSHIP SERVICE

featuring CROSS PURPOSE - a Christian band based at Burstow Parish

Church. We are looking forward to welcoming them back again.

Sunday 20th November

Scrummy tea 5.30pm Service 6-6.40pm

5TH TREE OF LIGHT SERVICE

11TH DECEMBER AT 6PM

THIS has become an important preparation for Christmas for many people who are

bereaved or separated from loved ones for other reasons.

It is most encouraging to hear that there are many churches in the area that are also

holding services this year. The main service at K2 will be on 4th December as will

services at other churches in the area. Sadly there are no other services to be held

locally. For this reason it was decided it would be a good idea to have our service on

an alternative date. Our service last year was most successful and I hope very helpful

to the many people that came.

I was so grateful for all the offers of help I received last year and the hard work and

generosity shown by the Mission Team and friends at St John’s. Once again I would

be so grateful to hear from anyone who would like to assist in the organisation ortake part in the service. We will need people to help set things up in the church

before the Service, Readers for the lessons, Sidesmen, and four prayer readers as

well as lots of things I’m sure I haven’t remembered! It would be good to involve

anyone who has any connection with St. Catherine’s and who would like to play a

part. Please contact me at [email protected] or phone 01342 324849.

I am hoping that Lyn Skinner and helpers from the St. Catherine’s supporters group

will be able to prepare and serve teas and coffees for us after the service as they have

in previous years.

Anne Morley and Joy provided us with a beautiful Christmas tree last year which

was becoming rather large for their garden. It looked very pretty outside the church

all over the Christmas period. If anyone has a similar tree that we could use please

let me know. Rona is going to ask the Fire Service if they could come and put the

lights up for us as they have in previous years. We are very grateful for their help

and support.

Jenny Young

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Felbridge and District

Horticultural Society

FDHS having secured a grant for the

purpose, society members, local

councillors and willing volunteers have

been planting another mass of springbulbs to brighten up public areas of the

village. We look forward to an even

better display next year.

2011 is our Diamond Jubilee Year and wewill be celebrating at the AGM on 17th November with a dinner for all our

members. If you are a member and do not

yet have your ticket, it will cost you £5 –

a bargain. Contact details below.

Having secured a site we are progressing

with the provision of Felbridge Garden

Plots. Priority for a plot will go to

Felbridge residents, so this could be the

opportunity you are looking for to join the

‘Grow Your Own’ movement!

Please contact Rosie Archer on 311184

for further information.

Felbridge W.I.

We celebrate the birthday of Felbridge

W.I. in November so we held our Annualmeeting one month earlier in October.Three members retired from our

Committee and have been replaced so we

are up to our full complement once more.

Daphne Ayerst was elected President for

a further year. Our members were

entertained by an old style ‘Music Hall’

and joined in the singing.

We look forward to a very varied and

enjoyable year for everyone. Our next

VILLAGE ISSUES

meeting will be at 1.30pm on the 8th

November at the Felbridge Village Hallon the first Tuesday in the month

(except for this November).

Daphne Ayerst

Communication hubs

The ability to communicate with people

living in the village as quickly as

possible is very important. Take the

incident which occurred at Hobbs

Industrial Estate. Had the wind been

blowing in the opposite direction we

would have been enveloped in the

smoke etc. coming from the fire. The

ability to alert people immediately as to

what to do would have been imperative.

For some time now I have been

developing communication hubs aroundthe village. It involves one resident

volunteering in an area to gather up

email addresses for people living in

their locality. When I have some

information which needs to be passed

out to the village, all I have to do ispass it to the dedicated hub person who

then at the click of a mouse pushes it

out to their list of email addresses.This comes into its own when there are

changes to refuse collections, police

alerts etc.

I am looking for volunteers in Warren

Close, McIver Close and Wheelers

Way. Anyone interested in becoming

involved can contact me via my email

([email protected]).Kenneth Harwood

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BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATION

The battle of Camperdown was fought

on 11th October 1797 between a Royal

Navy fleet under Admiral Duncan and

a Dutch navy fleet under Vice-AdmiralJan de Winter. At the height of the

battle the colours of HMS Venerable

were brought down by cannon fire. To

avoid giving the appearance that theyhad surrendered, a sailor named Jack

Crawford scrambled to the top of the

mainmast and nailed up the colours.

Once that had been done there was no

question of surrender!

Being baptized is like nailing your

colours to the mast as a Christian. It is

something Jesus told his followers to

do, and it is a way in which he assures

us of his acceptance of us, and

particularly his promise to wash away

all our sin.

Because it has been the custom tobaptize the children of Christian

parents, many people associate baptism

with babies, but it is emphatically not a

baby thing.Its meaning can only be understood by

thinking of the first followers of Jesus

who were baptized when they heard the

good news to show that they wanted to

sign up as his disciples and receive the

forgiveness he offered.

So it is right and proper that adults who

come to believe in Christ should bebaptized.

But what about those who were

baptized as babies?

Although the Bible does not specify a

ceremony to be used in this way,confirmation is a very appropriate way

in which those who were baptized as

babies can ‘nail their colours to the

mast’, and say, Yes, now I believe that

for myself.

It is also customarily seen as the

gateway to receiving Holy

Communion.

The practice is that it is administered

by a bishop, and we have a service of

Baptism and Confirmation booked for

the 20th May 2012. We hope the new

Bishop of Croydon (who has not yet

been appointed) will come to take this

service.

If you are interested in the possibility

of being baptized or confirmed, please

let me know as soon as possible. You

can do so without any obligation.

There will be preparation groups,appropriate to the needs of those who

are taking part.

As far as young people are concerned,the youngest possible age would be

Year 8.

Nailing your colours to the mast

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FELBRIDGE WILDLIFE

THE Autumn migration brought toEast Grinstead a bird sounexpected that its appearance atWeir Wood reservoir is only the thirdrecord for the UK. The fact that theLong-toed Stint isonly the size of asparrow, resemblesthree other species ofwader and feeds atthe extreme range ofmost telescopes,might account for itbeing overlooked.However, thisrefugee from theSiberian tundra wasconfirmed by thecounty's big man in small wadersand captured on video.

I was privileged to be shown it by aman with the powerful opticsnecessary for seeing a bird with thescientific name of Calidris subminuta and you don't get smaller

than that. It seemed to be in thecompany of fifteen dunlins and adozen ringed plover and waspassed over by a hunting peregrinefalcon, which might have beenprepared to take a stint. A flock ofover ninety twitchers soondispersed in despair.

Closer to home, our local sparrow

hawk had the audacity to perch onthe roof of our bird table and stareinto the kitchen window.

Autumn Tints and a Vagrant Stint

As forecast, it is a great season forfungi, including a crop of shaggyinkcaps on the vicarage lawn andthe spongey satan's boletus on theroadside verge.

The brush of a passing foxbrushed a dew-free path across

the front lawn and underfoot wecrush more acorns, beechmast,conkers and chestnuts than formany years - a feast for jays,squirrels and mice of alldenominations.

Remarkably, some floweringshrubs including camellias andrhododendrons are flowering fora second time this year, a

consequence of our exceptionalweather, not a reliable forecast of aWhite Christmas. We shall see.

The giant sunflower seed heads weleft on (similar to the one on theAugust front cover) now attractfeeding parties of greenfinches,

chaffinches, coal, great and bluetits, with the occasional sparrow andnuthatch. Time to disinfect and fillthe bird feeders again.

Spare a thought for the Long-toedStint, blown off course. Too longstuck in the mud is not good forchurches or churchgoers who losetheir way either.

Peter Bateman

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CURRENT ISSUES: SPEED LIMITS

Should the motorway speed limit be increased to 80mph?

FLASH! I was sure that the speed limit

at Winterbourne Zelston in Dorset was

40mph, so 37mph should have been

OK … but not when the limit turned

out to be 30mph. Rather than have

three points on my licence and a higher

insurance premium for the next few

years, I opted for a driver awareness

course in Bournemouth.

The point of these courses is to reduce

road casualties, increase driver

awareness and responsibility,encourage safe and efficient driving,

and challenge attitudes and beliefs.

It worked for me and I learnt a lot.

Our course instructors said that 98% of accidents are due to human error.

Exceeding the speed limit and

travelling too fast for the conditions

accounted for 24% of all fatalities in

2010. So why should we increase the

speed limit to 80mph in 2013?

Some people argue that the increase

seems overdue, given improvements in

vehicle design since the 70mph limitwas introduced in 1965. The increase,

“would generate economic benefits of

hundreds of millions of pounds through

shorter journey times” according toTransport Secretary Philip Hammond.

In any event, the government says that

49% of drivers break today’s top speed

limit and despite this, there has been a

fall of 75% in the numbers of peoplekilled every year on British roads since

1965. Indeed, Britain now has one of

the safest road systems in the world,

coming narrowly behind Sweden in the

international ranking of road deaths per

million of population.

Of all accidents, only 4% occur on

motorways, as against 22% on country

roads (where you are more likely to die

in a collision) and 74% in towns(where road users such as pedestrians

and cyclists are more vulnerable).

These arguments seem persuasive, but

according to Department of Transport

statistics, in 2010, there were still

208,648 casualties in road accidents

reported to the police. There were

1,850 people killed and 22,660 were

seriously injured. The economic

welfare cost of reported road accidents

was £15 billion - rather more than the

‘hundreds of millions of pounds’ of

benefit that Mr Hammond predicts.

Environmentalists point out that cars

are less fuel efficient at higher speeds,

oil is getting more expensive and the

proposed increase is at odds with thepolicy of reducing carbon emissions.

At 70mph your typical stopping

distance is 96 metres (315 feet) or 24

car lengths. Increase that to 80mph and

the figure is 122 metres (400 feet) -

more than 30 car lengths. Few of us

leave enough distance in front when we

are driving … would we leave more at

80mph or above? I don’t think so.

Gordon Wilkinson

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If you’ve ever measured your carbonfootprint you will know that keeping

your home warm in winter makes up a

large chunk of it. So pretty much any-

thing you do to cut down on heating

fuel will make a big difference to your

contribution to climate change. Here

are the numbers:

350 kg CO2e outlay for a three-

bedroom houseMinus 35 tonnes CO2e over 40 years

The energy used to produce the insula-

tion material will be paid back by the

energy you save in less than 6 months

saving a whopping 35 tonnes over the

life of the insulation.

Money-wise, even if there were no

grants to help pay for you to insulate, itwould still be well worth doing finan-

cially, with a £500 investment paid

back in 4 years. However, grants areavailable, through your energy-

provider (just phone them up and ask

them what they pay for). These make it

also worthwhile financially to top-up

insulation to the maximum recom-

mended (270mm) and put in cavitywall insulation.

Insulation is a no-brainer. If you do

one green thing this year, this is the

one to do.

And as well as insulating your house,

why not insulate yourself and your

family so you can’t help but turn down

that thermostat a degree or two? Ther-

mal vests make great Christmas pre-

sents!

Ruth Jarman

What is CO2e?

It is short for carbon dioxide equivalentwhich is the overall contribution to

global warming of carbon dioxide plus

all the other global warming gases

emitted such as nitrous oxide and meth-

ane.

For comparison:-

a) A banana is 80g CO2e and a return

flight to Hong Kong is 3.4 tonnesCO2e.

b) The average footprint of a person in

the UK is 10 to 15 tons of CO2e, and it

is necessary we reduce this to 2 tons

CO2e. Half of the 10 tons is "private"

i.e. 5 tons -- that we can control our-

selves - petrol, heating, food etc, and

half is "public" e.g. shops, schools,

road building, and needs laws to help

reduce these.

Data and inspiration from How Bad are

Bananas? – The Carbon Footprint of Every-

thing by Mike Berners-Lee

If we just come to Church to be seen by our friends and don’t put our hearts into in

the prayers and Amens……

If we belt out the hymns, just to hear ourselves sing, we’re worshipping Churchinstead of the King!

GOING GREEN

How Good is insulating your loft

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FELBRIDGE HOTEL & SPA EVENTS

Dancing through the Decades on Friday 2 nd December &

Saturday 3 rd December

Dig out those groovy flares and puffed shoulder pads and dance the night away tothe sounds of the 60's, 70's and 80's right through until today! We have the superb

band LA TOUR who will be performing all the hits as well as our DJ who will be

playing popular party music until the early hours.

Enjoy a sumptuous 3 course Christmas Dinner including 1/2 a bottle of wine per

person, festive novelties, live band and disco. Enjoy a glass of Champagne on

arrival, 3 course meal, live entertainment and a disco playing popular party music.

£59 per person (including 1/2 bottle of wine per person).

From £96.50 to include overnight accommodation and full use of the Chakra Spafacilities (based on 2 people sharing). Dress to impress. Fancy dress optional.

For bookings and more information please call 01342 337700 or email us.

[email protected]

BELLS AND BELFRYTHOSE of you who have driven along the A22 recently may have noticed

'men at work' on the church scaffolding at long last, and heaved a sigh ofrelief! In fact, work has been going on behind the scenes to reconstruct thetimber and metal framework which supports the bell, which all neededspecialist carpentry and metalwork skills. (It was this that had cracked andcorroded in the first place, which necessitated the re-hanging of the bell.)

That has now been completed and is ready to be fitted into place on two newstone 'corbels' which also had to be quarried and cut to size; BUT..... whenthe stonemason began to fit them, he discovered that the supportingstonework began to crack and crumble. So now we face a further delay while

decisions are made as to whether we use matching local sandstone – as atpresent – or order a harder type which might prove more durable.

Meanwhile, work will progress on re-pointing the stonework on the bell tower,which is in a sad state of disrepair as identified by the architect at the lastQuinquennial inspection, and would have required the scaffolding anyway.We had hoped that all the work would have been completed by the end ofOctober, before the forecast wintry weather arrives! However, with the latestsetbacks, that seems unlikely...... but we pray on, that the problems will beovercome satisfactorily and the work will be completed, to the glory of Godand the restoration of our church building – minus the scaffolding!

Be patient and hopeful!! Anne Butler

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NOVEMBER is the month when

gardeners have the leisure to look

back over the past year and reflect on

the highs and lows - a horticulturalend of term report in which they aim

to do better next year.

Every year we aim to plant up fewer

pots and hanging baskets but it never

seems to happen. We have many

plants that readily seed themselves so

why do we compulsively collect lots

of seeds, put them in envelopes andthen come spring feel compelled to

plant them? I make copious notes e.g.

buy more plant supports and stake

plants earlier; grow some flowers in

just one colour, for example, cosmos

all in pink or white but not mixed,

but then I forget all my good

intentions.

Our fruit trees were laden this year

particularly the apples. It always

makes me think of the huge variety

of apples that people used to grow in

their gardens in the past. When I was

a child we had a marvellous Laxton

Superb and a James Grieve - both so

full of flavour. You can still plant

bare rooted trees between now andthe end of February or container

grown ones at any time. There is still

time to plants hyacinths outside for

flowering in the spring and also totake hardwood cuttings of shrubs

such as dogwood, mock orange,

ribes, buddleia, viburnum and

weigelia.

Some weeks ago we vigorously

scarified the lawns and raked up so

much moss I felt as if I was hay-

making! Unfortunately, this exposedseveral bare patches where we then

had to sow more grass seed. This

autumn we have again filled the

hanging baskets with winter

flowering pansies because last year,

in spite of the severe weather, they

thrived.

This year we had three wasp nests. Ithink that most gardeners are nature

lovers but I do draw the line at wasps.

But one very welcome recent visitor

was a beautiful Hummingbird

Hawkmoth which dined on the nectar

from the petunias and verbenas

outside the kitchen window. We also

had a very strange event – a real

conundrum. When we were emptyingpots of spent lilies in order to

revitalise the soil and re-pot them we

found in the pile of soil a large

chicken egg! Where did it come

from? We cracked it open and it

appeared quite fresh. I would love to

know your theories of how it got

there - no matter how bizarre.

Maureen Reynolds

IN THE GARDEN

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TELL ME WHY?

Aren’t all religions basically the same?

THERE are lots of different religionsthroughout the world and indeedwithin this country. Lots of peoplefollow different religions and seemvery devout and pious. So manypeople ask, ‘Aren’t all religionsbasically the same? Isn’t onereligion as good (or bad!) as thenext?’

However, there is a major problemwith this approach: the Bible makesa unique claim. The Bible writersclaim that knowing Jesus Christ iscrucial to knowing God and beingaccepted by him.

Both the Old and New Testamentsin the Bible are written in thecontext of lots of different religionsaround them, yet throughout thereis a consistent call to worship theGod of the Bible alone. Thisincludes a call to avoid the worshipof man-made idols, but also goesmuch further. When the apostlePeter is asked how he has healed a

man, he says he has done it in thename and power of Jesus Christ,and then he adds:

‘Salvation is found in no oneelse, for there is no othername under heaven given tomen by which we must besaved.’ (Acts 4:12, NIV)

Peter is not addressing these wordsto a group of people who worship

stone idols; he is addressing themto a group of Jewish leaders.These Jewish leaders wouldcertainly have said that theyworshipped the God of the OldTestament, but Peter challengesthem. He says that the only way tobe right with God is through JesusChrist, and if you reject Jesus, youreject God.

It is not surprising that Peter saysthis, for Jesus himself had thesame message:

‘I am the way and the truthand the life. No one comes tothe Father except throughme.’ (John 14:6, NIV)

Jesus says the only way to knowGod truly is through him, and thatno-one can come to God the Fatherin any other way.

There are many religions in theworld, but the Bible makes amassive claim. It claims that the

only way to truly know God and bein a right relationship with him isthrough Jesus Christ. The Biblesays all religions are not the same,for Jesus alone is the way to God.This provokes a question back tous: How have I responded to JesusChrist?

Michael Peach

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AS explained in the October edition of Parish News the

PCC is exploring the possibility of installing Solar PV

panels on the church roof.

Progress so far is as follows:

A feasibility report was submitted to the PCC in July - approval in principle

was given. Five quotes were obtained and a report with a recommendation

submitted to the Standing Committee in August - the recommended installerwas accepted. An application was submitted to the Diocesan Advisory

Committee (DAC) in August based on an array of 40 solar PV panels on the

nave roof. A DAC architectural adviser and the Diocesan sustainability

adviser looked at the proposal and raised a number of points. A response

was submitted in September, which included rearranging the 40 panels in

three smaller arrays (two on the nave and one on the chancel).

At the DAC meeting in September the revised layout was considered an

improvement but an additional number of points were raised. A structuralengineer’s report on the roof and further information were sent to the DAC

in October for consideration at the next meeting in November. An

application to Tandridge District Council has commenced. The preparation

of a St John’s energy audit has commenced based on the eco-congregation

environmental toolkit Module 1 (a project of A Rocha UK ).

There is still a long way to go and it is by no means certain that we will

receive approval from the DAC and Tandridge. However, if we do (and the

PCC still wish to proceed) then we could have the panels installed andregistered by the end of March 2012 in order to obtain the current feed-in-

tariff before it is due to be lower from 1st April next year.

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

(email [email protected])

J Grainger

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Solar Photovoltaic Panels (Solar PV)

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WHAT ARE THEY DOING NOW?

It was the Easter Holidays of 2004 when I returned home from my secondterm at university to find Andrew Sach, a student from Oak Hill TheologicalCollege sat in my parents’ living room. ‘He’s staying for the week as part ofthe St John’s Mission’, Mum cried out from the kitchen. My face lit up as,having become a Christian just the previous term, I realised this was a

chance to fire off and get answers to all the difficult questions I’d beenpondering.

My parents Robin and Valerie, moved to East Grinstead in 1990 when I was6, and for the next 12 years I attended St John’s Church, Felbridge. Aftermoving up through the various youth groups, I left to go travelling andeventually to university, during which time Mum and Dad moved away.Despite the privilege of growing up at St John’s, it was during university thatdevelopments in my faith really began to take place, as I really began tounderstand what Jesus had done for me as he bore my sin on the cross. I

made the decision to start going along to church for myself, and fell in lovewith hearing God speak as the Bible was taught and explained.

Having completed my degree, I spent a year working as an apprentice at StJohn’s Church, Tunbridge Wells, before moving to the West End of Londonto work as a Sports Agent. A dream job managing a number of my boyhoodheroes, it was here that I started attending the lunch time services offered forworkers by All Souls Church, Langham Place. I soon made All Souls myspiritual home, and served on the student team alongside my job, leading asmall student group at the weekly student bible study. After a couple ofyears, I decided to give more time to the student ministry at the church, andleft my job to begin studying on the Cornhill Training Course, a course thatlooks to prepare people for ministry to teach the Bible both faithfully andskilfully. Having recently finished this in June, I am now working for the RevRico Tice, who wrote the Christianity Explored Course. Together we’rethinking through how we can best engage with people in today’s culture, inorder to share the gospel of Jesus, as well as training the church family forthe front line mission field they face every day in their workplaces, with theirfriends, their families and neighbours. Please do pray for wisdom for us as

we seek to do this.

James Isaacs

Have you ever wondered what happened to any of the children who

passed through our Sunday school and moved away. James Isaacs, a former St John’s child, shares his story with us.

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A huge great big THANK YOU to everyone for the donations of food for

Welcare when they completely ran out. Plus the generous Harvest Gifts, I filled

twelve Waitrose bags for life and a box with provisions. I would like to thank Mr.

Starr who helped deliver the gifts, giving up his time and petrol, and a special

THANK YOU to WAITROSE who very kindly donated the bags once again, making

my job a lot easier. I would like to take this moment to tell you that the FamilyService on December 4th will be the TOY service when we ask you to give a toy to a

lest fortunate child. Welcare ask for toys for children up to eight years, and for

teenagers. No guns, swords, etc, Soft Toys should be new and still in their original

wrapping, all other toys should be unwrapped as this makes choosing a present for a

particular child easier, games, educational toys, and all other toys, plus vouchers, arealways welcome.

You the Church Family never fail to surprise me with your generosity, this year has

flown by for me, so may I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy and

Peaceful Christmas.

Rona Bingham

Tearfund’s Created giftsOne degree of separation

Sociological studies suggest there aretypically just six degrees of separation

between any two randomly selected

people. In other words – through a

chain of friends and acquaintances andtheir friends and acquaintances – just

six steps separate a city trader in

London’s Canary Wharf and a nomad

in the plains of Mongolia. Tearfund’s

Created range of fairly-traded craft

goods reduce those six degrees to one.

Times may be difficult financially, but

by buying your Christmas gifts from

Created you will be investing incommunities that really need our help.

In Peru, for example, a member of theTaype Textiles Cooperative said, ‘It’s

exciting to know that the work of our

hands is being enjoyed by people far

away from here. The money makes

such a difference – and we want to be

able to sell even more.’

Supported by Created partner Manos

Amigas, five men and 80 women work

in the cooperative. Using a blend of alpaca and sheep wool, the women knit

hats, scarves and gloves – items that

have quickly attained best-seller status.

The women live within an hour’s walk

of the cooperative centre, but they knit

at home so they can take care of theirhouseholds and livestock. They only

speak the indigenous Quechua

MISSION MATTERS

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Created Sale and Coffee MorningFriday 4th November andSaturday 5th November

10.00am to 12 noonRivendell, The Limes, Felbridge.

You are warmly invited to the home of Brenda and GordonWilkinson for an opportunity to buy Created fairly-traded craftgoods and Tearfund Christmas Cards, a bring-and-buy stall and

refreshments.If you are able to help on the day, please call Brenda or Gordon on 01342311516.

REMEMBRANCE SERVICE

on 13th NOVEMBER

at 10.50am

Please note there will be NO Service at 9.30 this month.

language, and their work is inspired by

their pre-Inca culture. They have a few

modern tools to help them, but the

techniques they use have been passed

down for generations.

Manos Amigas is just one of eighteenpartners that Created works with in

eleven different countries. Last year,

more than £1 million worth of

handcrafted goods were sold: creating

safe and dignified employment for

hundreds of craftspeople, as well as

improving life for their families and

communities.

You can see artisans at work by

visiting www.youtube.com/

createdgifts, or you can view the

catalogue at www.createdgifts.org.

In 2004, Gordon and I visited craft

workers in Thailand and it was good to

see for ourselves the difference that the

income makes to their lives. In January,

2012 we are going to visit groups of

workers in Sri Lanka and southern Indianear Chennai, so we look forward to

telling you about it.

Please take a catalogue from the back of

church, place an order and make that

link with someone across the world.

Your Christmas gift could bring much

more than happiness to the person who

receives the gift - it could help a family

to send their children to school or avillage to install an electricity supply or

a source of clean water.

Brenda Wilkinson

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CHURCH FAMILY NEWS

News and Thanks

Very warm welcome to Jacob Andrew Callaway born 6th October to Dan andSuzy.

Thank you to those who contributed to and took part in the craft morning. Itwas lovely to have Doreen Broom's hand made cards on sale. If you wouldlike to buy any more or get her to make you a specific one for a specialoccasion just ring her.

Thank you to Anne Butler and Harold Thomas for rescuing the china and

reinforcing the shelf in the kitchen which collapsed. No plates were harmed inthis process!! This has brought to light some more china that is not needed.So if you can make use of it help yourself from the corner of the kitchen. Ifyou want to give a donation please feel free, anything not taken will be givenaway.

Thank you to Peter Burton and all who helped with the churchyard clearance.

The dry and tinned Harvest goods were taken to Welcare, who we supportregularly at St John's, the fresh goods to Open House in Crawley and theflowers and other gifts to those at home who can't join us so regularly nowbut who aren't forgotten. Thank you to everyone who donated so generously,those who made the church look so beautiful and those who delivered thegoods to the various recipients.

It was lovely to have a surprise visits from two former members of St John'slast month. Erika (Natasha Kasprowiz's sister) who grew up here and nowlives in America with her husband and five children who came with her for atrip down memory lane and to see where they were married! They hadn'tbeen here for about 14 years.

Also Judy nee Hughesdon who visited the following week with her daughterLivvy. Judy now lives in Sydney , Australia with Ken and their three children(including Sam who we've prayed for as he struggles with leukaemia). Moretrips down memory Lane as Ken and Judy were also married here and hadn'tvisited for about 10 years. It's good to catch up with people who used to behere and to hear what God is doing for them and with them as members ofHis family in other parts of the world. So always look out for ‘new’ faces andwelcome them as you never know who might be in church!

Iris and Alex Combley’s new address is available from the church office.Telephone 01342 321524 or email: [email protected].

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PEST CONTROL SERVICES

Wasps, flies, fleas. All types of rodents and vermin 01342 321373

GARDEN SERVICES

Ron West 01342 712586

KOINONIA COUNSELLING

Marriage problems, bereavement, depression, eating disorders etc

Jackie Lake 01342 718948

TV SALES, SERVICE & INSTALLATIONS

Panasonic Specialists. Plasma, LCD, Multiroom Systems, Aerial & Satellite.

Scott Brothers, 178 London Road, East Grinstead. 01342 321117

CLARINET LESSONS

Classical or Jazz, for pleasure or exam preparation

Elaine Short CT ABRSM 01342 327563

GARAGE & CAR REPAIRS, MOTs & COACHES

Woodcock Hill Service Station, London Road, Felbridge01342 325544

01342 326213

BUTCHERARTHUR FRY, Lingfield Road, East Grinstead 01342 323225

CHIMNEY SWEEP

MILBORROW CHIMNEY SWEEPS, ‘The Flueologists’

All Flues and Appliances Swept and Serviced. Pots, Cowls,

Caps, Birdguards, Fireplace Repairs, Stacks Repointed 01342 717900

FUNERAL DIRECTORS

R MEDHURST, Vine House, Hartfield

Caring family firm; home visits; 24 hour service.

Memorials arranged: Golden Charter pre-paid Funeral Plans

01892 770253

01342 315880

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USEFUL CONTACTS

Churchwardens: Anne Butler 01342 313640

e-mail: [email protected]

Andy Brown 01342 314267e-mail: [email protected]

Treasurer: Chris Saunders 01342 325662e-mail: [email protected]

PCC Secretary: Sheila Drury 01342 323865


Magazine Editor: Lindsey Saunders 01342 325662

e-mail: [email protected] Rota: Carole Grainger 01342 325482

Ministry of Flowers: Ann Morley 01342 714645


Church Hall Bookings: Sally Hobbs 01342 410929


Church Office (closed on Thursdays) 01342 321524

Village Hall Bookings: Lynda Railton 01342 322205

CHILDREN/YOUNG PEOPLE ACTIVITIES

Stars (3-6 yrs): Sally Hobbs 01342 410929


Comets (Year 2-4): Diane Francis 01342 714575

e-mail: [email protected] Meteors (Year 5-6): Gaby


The Rock (Year 7-9): Michael Peach 01342 312406


Parish Safeguarding Officer Chris Ely 01342 311614


Rainbows, Brownies & Guides Ann Tucker 01342 317283e-mail: [email protected]

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