Young Enthusiastic Service – Bulphan 13 JAN 19

Sunday 13th January saw the Benefice’s youth HUB take charge of Bulphan’s Family Service, for a Young Enthusiastic Service – YES.

The theme of their service was Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians.

The service was led by sisters Ella and Evie, two young members of Bulphan Church.

Paul was a prolific writer of letters to several communities which are found in The New Testament, however what isn’t recorded is the thoughts and reactions of the communities to these letters. This is what the Youth HUB explored and delivered the service reading on, taking the parts of Corinthians discussing why this man was sending them letters which were effectively instructions on how to live their lives, what it meant to them as a community and why or should they take any notice of his him. Many of the congregation praised them for their thought provoking service and the obvious effort they had put in, as they had written their parts as Corinthians and the prayers.

After the service they enjoyed the breakfast that is a feature of Bulphan’s Family Service.

Once they had sampled Bulphan’s breakfast, the group went bowling, followed by pizza for lunch and watching a Harry Potter film in the home of one of the group leaders’.

The next YES will be at an Orsett Family Service on Sunday 13th October

Sue Mann

17th December 2018

Rector’s Reflections 

Welcome to the December and January edition of the Hobnob. Thank you, so much, to those who kindly donated a Christmas Shoebox to Operation Christmas Child this year. We received over 90 shoeboxes which we collected at our United Benefice Service in November. It was a great community effort, including churches, schools, the uniformed organisations and The Whitecroft Residential Care Home, to name a few, and I am sure your generous gifts will be greatly appreciated by those who receive them.

As I write this, a group of us from Christian Churches in Thurrock have been meeting, and are in the process of setting up a means of providing meals on Friday and/or Saturday afternoons for homeless people, at a church in Thurrock. If anyone feels able to be part of this project, either on a regular or occasional basis, then please do let me know.

And, as we approach Christmas we, indeed, remember that Jesus began his life as a refugee, born in very basic conditions. It’s tempting, isn’t it, in the warm candle glow of Christmas services, to romanticise the birth of Jesus, but we also need to remember that we worship a Saviour, the incarnation of God, on earth, who knows, only too well, the reality of being fully human, and all that this entails, including both the good and bad, the joys and the struggles. Jesus loves each one of us deeply and longs to be part of our lives today, both individually and corporately and this includes being with us in the mess we often find ourselves.

As we reflect upon Jesus and the purpose for which he came to be born among us, or, as some might put it ‘the reason for the season,’ perhaps, this year, in our domestic preparations, it might be time to step out of the pattern of familiarity and do something slightly differently in order to share the love of Jesus with others.

There is, in fact, a Christian book called ‘Doing December Differently: An alternative Christmas Handbook.’ Sometimes, when we step out of the mould, we can experience Jesus in a profound new way.

Here are some of the suggestions in the book:

  • With family and friends, agree on a limit to what you are going to spend. Send the rest to charity.
  • Buy your gifts from charities.
  • Give a goat etc.
  • Give fair trade goods.
  • Make your own Christmas cards.
  • Recycle last year’s Christmas Cards.
  • Send a Christmas card to a prisoner of conscience or human rights defender. See www.amnesty.org.uk for further details.

These are just a few ideas, but to finish with – a few words by Jo Jones, a former Christian Aid worker:

I heard a story about a woman who asked all her friends to send her a candle for Christmas and the money they would have spent on presents to charity. She then had a room full of candles reflecting the love of friends and family – and the knowledge that money had gone to those much more in need.

I look forward to seeing you at Church over the Christmas period and wish you a joyous and peaceful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

With love and prayers for you all,

Sue

Messy Church – Success in the 1st Term

We have now held an afterschool Messy Church in each of the three primary schools this term, which have been a real success, with the children exploring a religious theme and making something to help them understand it and a shared meal.

The most recent was on Monday 12th November in Horndon where the children were looking at  ‘Christ is The Light’ as the theme and made decorated jam jar lanterns and candle images.

Thurrock & Havering Male Voice Choir concert

The evening of Saturday 24th November was a treat for those with love of choir singing when Thurrock & Havering Male Voice Choir held a concert in Horndon Church, who were joined by Sonia Ward adding her vocal talents to the proceedings.

The evening was an enjoyable and resounding success raising about £700 for Horndon Church.

Sue Mann

6th November 2018

Rector’s Reflections

We have just celebrated Harvest in all three parishes and I would like to thank all those who worked so hard and imaginatively to decorate our Churches. St Mary’s Church, the Church of St Peter and St Paul and St Giles and All Saints Church all looked lovely; each completely different but the three reflecting the glory of God’s creation and the abundance of his provision for us.

Our Harvest reading this year was from Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter 6, verses 25-33, the passage in the Bible which tells us not to worry about what we wear or eat or drink. During Harvest, not only have we been thanking God for what we have received, but we have been reflecting upon our part in God’s purpose to ensure that our world’s resources are shared fairly so that no one goes without and so that no one needs to worry about having their needs met.

Most of us are fortunate enough to have warm homes, clean water and nutritious food, but we are only too aware that there are people not far away from us who will have no meal today. A group of ministers in Thurrock have met recently to consider how the churches might help those who are currently without a home. Our news has highlighted the plight of people affected by the devastation of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia. We are constantly reminded of the effects of climate change and the consequences of our greed and overuse of resources such as plastic. There are children in some countries who will receive nothing this Christmas.

Harvest has been a good time to consider our responses, both individually and as a church, to situations of need in our world such as those mentioned above. We have collected food for the foodbank and financial donations for the DEC Indonesia Tsunami Appeal. Harvest also provided us with an opportunity to encourage people to put together Christmas shoeboxes for children in other countries who, otherwise, would not receive a Christmas present. Thank you, so much, for your Harvest donations and for your responses to the DEC appeal and thank you to those of you who have put together a Christmas shoebox. These boxes will be collected at our United Benefice Service on November 4th at 10am at Bulphan Church. You are all very welcome to come along.

Also, on the afternoon of 4th November, at 4pm, we will be holding a service to Commemorate the Departed, at Bulphan Church, where everyone is invited to light a candle in memory of a friend or loved one who has died. You are all invited to attend this moving service. You don’t need a formal invitation, you can just turn up. And, of course on November 11th we will be holding Remembrance services which, this year, will be particularly poignant as we celebrate the anniversary of the end of the First World War.

There is lots going on in November and I look forward to seeing you soon.

With my continued love and prayers.

 Sue