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Sharon Gay invites us to find out what happens at Thursday Club, our monthly group for ladies. And yes, it meets on Thursdays!

Come with me and take a chair
Meet the Thursday Club, see what happens there.
Our monthly meetings are welcoming and fun,
But where did we come from? How did we ‘become’?

A young wives group some years ago,
Matured considerably (where does time go?)
Not once, but twice or maybe even three
So a new name just had to be.

Some members have been there for quite a long spell
While more recent recruits have slotted in well.
As time passes we’ve shared others’ pleasures, sometimes woes
There’s a lot of experience ‘on the clock’ and it shows!

Members have come from all walks of life –
Work placements, house moves, periods of strife
Support is quietly given, no fuss or brass band;
If necessary folk know there’s a helping hand.

Why not give Thursday Club a go?

The group meets on the third Thursday evening of each month (except August) in the Link, starting at 7.30pm and going on until about 9pm. There’s a different speaker or activity each month. Meeting topics are varied from A through to Z. We’ve done culinary crafts, quizzes, shared meals, and ‘visited’ Africa with a group of young people through Urban Saints.

Our annual donation to charity has included varied causes: Water Aid, Sight Savers, Toilet Twinning, Smile Train, and nearer to home: Christchurch Stroke Unit, the Air Ambulance, About Face, Bournemouth Women’s Refuge, and Dorset Blind Association.

Our opening prayer, written by a former member, encourages us to be thankful and remember those not with us. With everything from fellowship to a helping hand, from interesting talks to raising money for good causes, there’s lots to interest and plenty of support and fun! Why not give it a go? New members are always welcome.

Sharon Gay, Thursday Club

Well, in simple terms they are: Ethney Ellwood, John Fairbairn, David Hoyle, Nigel Legrand, Steve Parselle, Paul Renyard, Kelvin Randall, James Robertson, Janice Seare, Sandra Tauson, and David Thompson. Most of us are retired from parish ministry and are worshipping in the benefice or in nearby parishes. The transition into retirement is never easy or straightforward in any walk of life, but for clergy and their partners it often involves not just the loss of support and companionship enjoyed in working relationships, but the additional loss of home, friends and the familiar surroundings of the places where we have ministered over a period of years. To be welcomed into a worshipping community and to be able to share in its life is for us therefore very special. Thank you.

We are all clergy, called by God to the ordained ministry of the Church of England and so have many years’ experience of leading Sunday services, baptisms, weddings and funerals.

We all have the Bishop of Winchester’s Permission to Officiate. This also means that we have regular checks from the Disclosure and Barring Service, and have to continue to receive safeguarding training. We are all unpaid, like all of you who volunteer in our churches with your wide range of gifts and ministries.

What do we do?

Whatever Andy wants us to do is the direct answer. He is the one tasked by God to lead our churches and we want to do what we can to free him to exercise his own ministry in the best way possible. So, when you see one of us leading a service in church, it’s almost certain that Andy will be leading worship or preaching in one of the other benefice churches. Our ministry has to fit within that of the church overall, and so we need the humility and discernment to recognise how we can best be of service here. And what a privilege it is to be able to share in worship with you!

Let me end with the prayer of the Retired Clergy Association:

Lord, my support in ministry, may I be a support to others;
Lord, my strength in times of frailty, may I be a strength to others;
Lord, my companion in times of loneliness, may I be a companion to others; Lord, my light in times of darkness, may I be a light to others;
Lord, my guide in times of confusion, may I be a guide to others;
Lord, my rock, my confidence and my joy,
protect me in despair and dismay,
that I may complete my pilgrimage
which began, continues and will end,
With hope, in you.

Kelvin Randall, associate minister

Cartoon from: https://www.cpg.org/global/online-resources/cartoons/

Church life has been busy at St Saviour’s over the past few weeks, with not only our regular programme of services and groups, but also special events, fundraising, and maintenance work carried out on our buildings and grounds. Throughout this time, many within our church family have faced challenges with their own health (both long-term and short-term illness), bereavement and loss, and also dealing with similar challenges facing their families and friends.

When we are involved in God’s work, we are always vulnerable to attack. This is why it is so crucial to take care of our prayer lives both individually and as a church. Prayer is a two-way process of talking to and listening to God. And we can do this at anytime, no matter what our location or circumstances. Jesus realised the importance of prayer:

‘Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.’ Mark 1 verse 35

We need prayer not only to help us to grow spiritually in our individual lives, but also because, as Christians, we are often under attack – at an international, national, and a local level, in church communities and in our personal lives. We may seem powerless, until we remember that we can pray.

As a church we have witnessed the power of prayer in many ways – through spiritual and physical healing, through guidance and protection. But we both recognise how hard it can be to get going!

Some practical suggestions:

• Try to spend even a short time every day in prayer. Talk to and listen to God.
• Join a home group. It’s an ideal way to share prayer needs and pray together.
• Take full advantage of all our church offers – Priority 1; the Wednesday Prayer and Praise at lunchtimes; and the prayer chain.
• Take part in wider church initiatives. It’s not too late to join in with Thy Kingdom Come. (See last week’s insert, still available in the Link.)

‘Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.’ Colossians 4 verse 2

Christine Moyes and Bev Collum-Mills, churchwardens

God’s in the business of bringing the whole world under his good rule. And he invites – expects even – his people to join him in that task! The great thing about being a church is that we can do things together that we couldn’t do on our own. We can have an impact in places that would otherwise be beyond our reach. Here at St Saviour’s the World Mission Core Group (WMCG) exists to help us live up to our calling to be Jesus’ witnesses to the ends of the earth!

Here are some of the ways that that takes shape in our church:

• Long-term investment in the Teso region of Uganda, through the work of Teso Development Trust, with which Christine Moyes is closely involved
• Partnering with the work of Bible translation in southern Russia, including contact with Anya and Jacob
• Sending care packages to Syrians through Samara’s Aid, spearheaded by Les Barry
• Filling many Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes each year
• Encouraging cross-cultural opportunities to share the good news of Jesus – like Lois to Amsterdam, Rebecca to Ukraine, Daniel Brooks to Croatia …
• Connecting with refugees here in Bournemouth through International Care Network
• Our annual ‘World Mission Month’, raising awareness through events like Secret Church and rich/poor lunches
• Praying for the world and our mission links, at both Priority 1 and the World Mission Prayer meetings
• And we could add raising money for Christian Aid; responding to emergency appeals; the regular Fair Trade stall; a home group which raises money for a ladies’ Bible study group in Africa and sends cards to a persecuted couple in Cuba …

What an exciting list! And there’s probably more that could be added.

But, important though such activities are, the key thing is that our hearts should beat in tune with God’s, that our longing for the world matches God’s own – to see Jesus worshipped as king everywhere, to see his kingdom of shalom heal the brokenness of our world. If that’s our passion, the rest will follow – starting here in Bournemouth, but extending to the ends of the earth!

If you’d like to get involved or be part of the World Mission Core Group, do come and speak to one of us: Christine, Les, Nathan, Sarah, or Julian.

World Mission Core Group

Such a lovely buzz after Rob Small’s talk at the CAP (Christians Against Poverty) launch, with many signing up to support and find out more. Thank you all!

Sarah Harris outlines more exciting opportunities:

Following on from our CAP Sunday service on 28 April and the Life Skills meeting on Thursday 3 May, we still require a couple of groups of people to be on hand when required:

1. It is vital that we have a dedicated prayer team for CAP, and possibly ‘prayer warriors’, whilst the course is running. If you feel you could be a part of, or perhaps you could head this up, please contact me.
2. We also require befrienders, males especially please! Befrienders are a really important role for the Life Skills course. Pat Smart and I would really appreciate your help and support in this role, which involves coming alongside clients, just being a friendly face, and hopefully building up a friendship with them. The aim is to help them feel safe and encouraged to attend each week and to continue the friendship once the course has ended. You do not require any special training to be a befriender, but please speak with me if you have any concerns.

You can contact me by email sarahharris@caplifeskills.org or my CAP mobile number is 07741 909782.

I look forward to hearing from you! God bless!

Sarah Harris, CAP representative

Wondering about these CAP books?

Peter Gill reviews Nonetheless by John Kirkby and Journeys of Hope

Both these books were promoted recently by CAP at our Sunday morning service and are available for borrowing from the church library.
Nonetheless is the personal story of CAP’s founder, John Kirkby, and his roller coaster life, which eventually resulted in him forming CAP – a fascinating story of disaster, despair and eventual hope as he encountered God and obeyed Him.

Journeys of Hope is a collection of 12 inspirational true stories of people from all walks of life who contacted CAP, and how God transformed their lives.

I can thoroughly recommend both books to challenge you and build your faith in God!

PS Don’t be put off by uninspiring front covers or well-worn pages! This applies to all books!

Peter Gill, church librarian

“Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues with injustice.” Proverbs 16:8

Many of you will have seen my stall in the entrance hall over the last few years, and so I am grateful to Christine [Moyes] for suggesting that I use this space to tell you a bit more about the stall.

All my produce comes from Traidcraft which was established in 1979 at a time when there was no such thing as the Fairtrade mark we are all familiar with today. Today they work with producers in over 30 countries, with many of whom they have developed a longstanding relationship.

From the start Traidcraft represented a Christian response to the injustices that we see in the world. Central to its ability to continue is the network of over 4,000 fair traders who run stalls in churches up and down the country.

Personally I have been a fair trader since 2002 and I work closely with St John’s Moordown, Winton URC, and the Cherry Tree Nursery, in addition to my stalls here at St Saviour’s. Each fair trader organises themselves as they want to, but my model is to try to pass on a bit of my discount to the customers, and at the end of each year donate all my profits to Traidcraft Exchange, a charity that provides extra support to the producers that Traidcraft works with. The whole idea is to make the producers more independent, and there have been some great success stories, such as when Swajan crafts in Bangladesh won a contract to supply their cards to Marks and Spencer.

This year Traidcraft is celebrating its 40th year of pioneering fair trade in the UK, but it is against a very difficult economic situation that has meant cutting back on some of the crafts and concentrating on their core foodstuff produce. I do hope that you will come and take a look at (or even buy!) the produce, and browse the catalogue which has a lot more information about Traidcraft and the producers they work with.

Thank you so much to Andy, Christine, and all of you for supporting this effort to make the world a fairer place.

Steve Evans, fair trader