So, Spark... Soul Survivor... holidays… are

all rapidly disappearing into the memory

mists as the Autumn term gets underway

but before they are completely forgotten

do speak to those who were involved in

either/both and find out the wonderful

ways God worked in people’s lives and

circumstances!

In August, our Sunday morning sermons

looked at how the Gospel of Jesus Christ

is GOOD NEWS! On the 10th

we focused on how the Gospel

is Good News for children as

we welcomed Isabella Barham

(Sue and Steve Read’s

granddaughter) as she was

baptised and on the 24th as

Wendy Carr (in her first morning

sermon) reminded us that the

Gospel is Good News for

everyone, including ourselves.

A good number of us were able to join

Andy Bond as he and eleven others were

ordained Deacons (the first of two

ordinations into his vicar ‘apprenticeship’!)

at Rochester Cathedral on September

13th. It was particularly lovely that Dave

Kichenside (2 years ahead of Andy in

CYFA, the St John’s youth group of the

day) has just moved to Chatham with his

family, and was able to join us at what was

a very special service.

We congratulate Jon and Julie Stedman

on their marriage and look forward to the

blessing and

celebration at the

end of September

and our

congratulations go

to Kate and Roger

Finney who

celebrated their

Ruby wedding in

August. Our love

and prayers go to

Pat Wootton and her family as they mourn

John’s death, and those of us who have

been members of St John’s for a number

of years remember with much affection

and respect, Dawn Catten and Wendy

Yates (Nunn) both of whom passed away

recently.

Please be praying for all our youngsters

adjusting to new teachers, school or

university, especially Chris Knight and

ex-3Dub members going to uni. Please

also pray for the teams leading our

Dubsters and 3Dub youth groups - it’s all

change! So… an Autumn with two Alpha

groups, sermons and House groups

focussing on prayer, Messy Church

beginning a series on people who met

Jesus - many opportunities to learn and

apply our learning!

‘Til, is it really December? I’d better start

hunting for the Christmas lights!!

Estelle Woodcock

Oct/Nov 2014 Issue No. 12 ST JOHN’S, WELLING

e: sj.grapevine@gmail.com www.stjohnswelling.org.uk t: 020 8303 1107 editors: David and Nicola Foot

St John’s News

Dear friends, These notes are from our wider leaders’ away day on September 20th. One day we will need to stand before God, on our own, and we must not live on past glories. Ezekiel 33:12-16 says, “Therefore son of man, say to your countrymen, ‘The right-eousness of the righteous man, if he sins, will not be allowed to live because of his former righteousness…’”. Our past good behaviour does not save us from present disobedience. Are we continuing to run the race to which he has called us? Are we living the life He expects of us? There is a firm warning but as always with God, a very positive promise. I believe we are at a pivotal time for St John’s. How we respond will determine whether we break through the glass ceiling or retreat backwards. There is much that is good, but also that which is not, scratch the surface and what would we find? Our roots are not as deep as they need to be. Are we following God’s word, are we truly living the life to which he has called us? ‘Follow God’s example, therefore, as

dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God’ (Ephesians 5:1-21). A word from God received before the day: “You say you love me, yet you grieve

my Spirit by your hypocrisy, your envy, your judgment of others and your gossip. Focus your eyes on me. Return to your first love. For I am the “I am” and I wish to be in deep relationship with you. Do not judge others, only yourself.” From Revelation 2 & 3 we looked at the sins of tolerance, of intolerance and of lukewarmness and faced a call to return to our first love of Christ. Three questions were posed - what was your first love of Christ like? Have you become lukewarm? If so, what are you doing about it? We also looked at living the life – the need as leaders and mature Christians to be living the life and setting a good example. Ezekiel 47:1-12 (The River from the Temple) says, ‘Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their

leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” There is a need go deep into the river, to be close to the river of life that brings healing, planting deep nourishing roots that bear good fruit. How can we become the fresh water that flows constantly, not a swamp but making salt water fresh? We need to be in a small group – accountable – and working hard to stop the ‘cinema’ mentality. We need to own the church’s finances and future. Finally we looked at moving & working in the power of the Spirit from Ezekiel 43:1-4, ‘I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. … and I fell facedown… and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.’ During ministry God spoke to us with en-couraging words (and with words to Bishop Ridley). God has honoured us as a church with abundant blessings – let us honour Him in all our ways. He has called us to be His bride – and as His bride we must be ready. Blessings, Adam Foot, Vicar

View from the Vicarage

Every Grapevine we try to include a little something from a house group. This month it’s Sue Read’s turn... Our house group grew out of an Alpha group back in 2008. Another Alpha group was added and here we are. It is a mixed-age group from 30 something to 90 something. We have two members from Bishop Ridley with the remainder from St John’s. One of our beloved ex-members from BR, Audrey Ford, sadly died last month; she will be greatly missed. We are Bev Jones, Bev Beaumont, Julia Stevens, Julia Flack, Kathy Walker, Roulla Gonzi, Loretta Gill, Sandy King, Jean Jost (BR), Zac Bird (BR), Lavender Brown, Ruth Wellman, Steve and myself. Laura Webster sometimes attends and Roy Eldridge and Leigh Hills are just about to start. We meet alternate Tuesday evenings. We have a reputation for being the rebellious group! We do the same thing as the other house groups sometimes but not usually at the same time! We rarely focus on the St John’s Sunday teaching as we have a BR contingent. We have already completed the HTB (Holy Trinity Brompton) prayer course so we will be doing J John’s 10 commandments (well, God’s 10 commandments – J John’s

interpretation!). We also give other people a chance to lead and to come and speak. Our socials are legendary! ;) Feedback is always really good and is borne out of the fact that people rarely leave! It is challenging and we have had a few personal crises within the group. It’s times like these, however, when we can see just how much we are family by supporting one another. We still have things we need to face up to individually but we talk through it and help one another to overcome our difficulties. As a group, our world mission focus is John and Alice at Rukungiri School in Uganda – do I need to say anymore?! [If you don’t know who they are, take a look at the ‘Around the World’ board near the main doors.] We are just about to start a ministry to bereaved people which is still in its infancy but we will be visiting those who have lost someone, bringing a gift from the church and reflecting that God loves and cares about them. Sue Read

‘Since he was a boy, Mosab Hassan Yousef has had an inside view of the terrorist group Hamas… But everything changed when Mosab embraced the teachings of another Middle Eastern leader instead... Now [he’s] risking everything to expose closely guarded secrets and show the world a way to peace.’

In the light of world news - with airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Syria - the true story of Mosab Hassan Yousef seems even more poignant and relevant. His honesty, courage and conclusions are something the western church needs to hear and be transformed by. It’s not an easy read, but then the truth in this world isn’t always easy to hear and acknowledge. That doesn’t mean we should shy away from it or fear what will happen if we stand up for it. I fully recommend Son of Hamas to you. ‘I am eager for the church to recognise their responsibility toward the other side of the world and major problem of Islam. We have huge responsibilities as Christians, and the problems look controversial, but we can’t back down just to be “politically correct”…’

Nicola Foot

“A gift of Hope and Love” Son of Hamas

This will be the last 3Dub article I do - Rich AA here, back writing in the Grapevine after being dubbed ‘incomprehensible' (can’t spell it but oh well it won’t make sense anyway!) but hey, that’s just the Story of my Life. Right Now I have come to the end of my 3Dub career: after over 4 years of service I’ve stepped down from 3Dub leadership. More on that later. All Over Again it was Summer Love and 3Dub returned to the weathering storms of Shepton Mallet (which actually this year had rather nice weather) to attend the legendary Soul Survivor. The smallish group had an amazing time. The main theme was relationships. With sacrificial love, marriage, celibacy, self-image, pornography, and many topics More Than This covered, 3Dub dived deeply into theology and were taught & inspired to live counter-cultural lives in this ever toughening world. It was Irresistible to stay Up All Night, and this year the practical jokes were on (and why not?! We might as well Live While We’re Young!). I kicked it off by making a windshield for our gazebo using a One Direction bed sheet, (making us a landmark of the site). Jenna and Hayley filled up my tent compartment with balloons. They also put the storage tent

inside the lads’ tent, making it impossible to get into! James, Chris, Sean and Aaron took things too far and nearly gave me a Heart Attack, putting fish into my bags... Na Na Na. I wish I had Taken their shoes or something but I’ve got Half a Heart! Dave Foot got the girls back with a stroke of Magic: Little Things, like sleeping bags, disappeared creating some Midnight Memories that we will never forget. Our thanks go to Nic and Louise R for cooking for us. The Best Song Ever was created late one evening, called the Barbershop Song! One Thing you might not know about Dave is that he's in a barbershop quartet and we now have a song that can be sung if One Way or Another anyone mentions it. Soul Survivor is an amazing resource and blessing for our groups, long may we continue going. The new term has kicked off. The leadership team (Cat still being on maternity leave) is now Dave Foot, Jeff and Kim Golding and Judith Baumann (see CRiBS article). I know that they will give it their all, and that 3Dub will love having them around. Please extend your

gratitude to them as they are new (they aren't aware of what it’s like yet). 3Dub Stole My Heart - I loved the time I spent in 3Dub and as a leader. It was challenging, exciting and also scary, but most of all it was a privilege to be in the lives of such great young people, watching them grow, learn, teach, move up and move on. You are pushed more to your limits when you serve, where you give is where you truly receive. Please continually invest in the youth, for you were once one of them and now you are here, do not stereotype them, do not brush them to one side. They are not just the youth leaders’ responsibility. They are the church’s. They have so much to give, as do you. We are all young, just some of us hiding in slightly wrinklier looking skin. So leaving you with this, What Makes You Beautiful is the fact that we can Live While We’re Young. Muchos Love, Rich AA

(PS. 3Dub treat… how many 1D song titles are there in this article?!) [Rich, you repeated one... ~ Eds.]

3Dub (14-18s)

Hi, I’m Peter; I’m a member of St John’s Church. I’ve also been our church ambassador for CRiBS for the past 6-12 months. Among other things, this means that I’m kept up to date with what’s happening at CRiBS and feed back to the church. I also love helping CRiBS when the opportunity arises, like in November 2010 when CRiBS were given a double decker bus for use in schools. I volunteered my time in Erith where the bus was being stored to help get it ready to go around the schools in Bexley. I filled in holes, sandpapered the walls and then helped to paint both upstairs and downstairs (and I helped to re-paint it this year - it was looking very tired!). The CRiBS team are amazing in what they are doing in schools. Here’s a quick snapshot from their upcoming newsletter - make sure you pick one up from the ’Around the World’ board (near the main door)… Peter Smithers

In June a small team comprising CRiBS, parents and Holy Trinity Lamorbey church members enabled a day of creative prayer at Holy Trinity Lamorbey Primary School. With fifteen classes spending 20 minutes each in the outside space it was an exhausting day, but fully worth every minute! It allowed the children to explore what prayer means, how it can be done and what a relationship with our living God could look like. The children’s response to

the ‘prayer stations’ was very positive as they engaged with one another and with God. From ages 4 to 11, they particularly commented on their love of the quiet area describing it as “peaceful” and “calm”. They kept returning from the other activities to sit and pray/think in silence. It was clear this ‘unplugged’ (no music, games, films, talking) silence in the midst of their ‘plugged in’ lives was rare and precious to them. Wendy Carr & Nicola Foot

The Marriage Course

CRiBS (Christian Resources in Bexley Schools)

When we started The Marriage Course we did not know quite what to expect, although Lavender had watched Nicky and Sila Lee's Marriage Course on the God channel 2 or 3 years ago. Having been married for 14 years we'd never been to a marriage course or seminar or anything similar. Michael was a bit worried that he would have to get out in front of everybody and discuss our marriage. However it wasn't like that at all. Instead it was an intimate setting with tables laid out far away enough from the other tables so none of the couples could be overheard. We both looked forward to our Thursday

"evening out," away from cooking, laundry, the dishwasher, etc. We watched the DVD, and broke for discussions and exercises in the book (which had been given to us at the start of the course). And of course we were served with a mouth wateringly delicious meal and dessert every week (cooked by John and Angie Hollands), whilst waited upon hand and foot by the amazing team. This made us feel very special. Each week had a different theme, whether it be communication, family, forgiveness, conflict resolution, etc, and it became a special time where we could get away from the day to day humdrum and have a chance to discuss our relationship with each other. Some of the topics were challenging and it was good that we could resolve or identify issues that may have been underlying for weeks or years and the work book helped map out a way forward.

When we did exercises in the workbook relating to certain topics (we had to swap books with each other and read one another’s responses) there were issues we did not even realise were there. There were also topics that took us back to the great moments we've had in the past and helped us to appreciate each other more and have increased hope for the future. We highly recommend this course to any and every couple whether newly weds or coming up for a diamond wedding, whether they regard their marriage as good, poor, or excellent. We would definitely love to do this course again in a few years’ time. Michael & Lavender Brown

The team spent four days away in Oxfordshire training, writing lessons, team building and having fun! I was

taking this photo. One particular highlight was the button which lifted

the floor up to reveal a heated swimming pool beneath it! David

CRiBS have four gap year friends from Germany working with them this year. From left

to right, they are Valerie, Martin, Judith and Larissa. Judith is joining us here at St John’s

and will be helping with 3Dub. Larissa, who is placed at St Peter’s, will be helping with

Dubsters and Girls’ Cell. Eds.

Spark in the Park 2014 was a very enjoyable and successful week. I enjoyed helping out with all of the different sports and activities and I was even playing the guitar in the Spark band as well which made it more enjoyable for me. Each morning, I was excited to get back up to the park to start again because it was so fun. This was my first time helping out with Spark in the Park and I didn’t know what to expect from it so I was slightly anxious. I have a stutter and sometimes I find it difficult in certain speaking situations, so it was challenging as I had to put myself out of my comfort zone and throw myself straight into the deep end. The whole of the Spark team were extremely friendly and good to be around which made the experience even better. Being able to help the church community alongside friends was great fun and it felt rewarding to see so many

happy children and parents having a good time and learning about Jesus. God definitely played a big part at Spark and made sure everything ran smoothly. For example, many people prayed that the weather would be nice and God answered those prayers by giving us outstanding weather and I even managed to get a nice tan! It was great to see that many families turned up to have a good time and worship God.

I knew that talking to parents at Spark was going to be the hardest part for me due to my difficulties with my speech but I realised that when you’re in

God’s presence, you don’t have anything to worry about. I managed to put myself out of my comfort zone and tried to speak to as many people as possible, and because of that, even after Spark, I have continued to grow in confidence. Overall I had a great time helping out for the first time and I’m definitely looking forward to it again next year! Chris Knight

Playgroup has settled down for the new term. We said goodbye to Laura in July as she is going to concentrate on her other ventures. Have fun Laura!!! We have welcomed Wendy Carr to the team and she has settled in very nicely...well done Wendy! The new children are joining us and settling in too. We are full up with 2 year olds and have a few spaces for 3 / 4 year olds, however as soon as the 2 year olds have their birthday, it will make places available for more of them. The playgroup now has a link from the church website which we are hoping to develop during this year: www.stjohnswelling.org.uk/playgroup Before the summer holidays we took the children to the Woodlands Farm at the bottom of Shooters Hill. It was a really lovely visit and the children thoroughly enjoyed looking at the animals and searching the garden for various items. We are going to take the children to the park for an Autumn walk straight after half term and then we are planning to repeat our Children in Need fundraising cake sale in November. We would like to thank the Playgroup Council for all the hard work they continue to do. Thank you, Julie Stedman Manager

Playgroup

Far below the headlines, a plague of hidden, everyday violence is devastating the developing world and undermining our efforts to end poverty. Fear of violence is part of everyday life for the poor... because their justice systems – police, courts and laws – don’t protect them from violent people:

4 billion live outside the protection of the law

Nearly 2 million children are exploited in the commercial sex trade

1 in 5 women around the world are victim of rape or attempted rape

Nearly 30 million people are held in modern-day slavery

5 million suffer forced eviction and millions more are run off their land by powerful neighbours

This reality is inconceivable to many of us: its seeming remoteness and scale can paralyse us from taking action and makes it easier for us to ignore. [GOD’S HEART] Yet Scripture

consistently reveals God’s heart for justice and the oppressed – it’s part of His nature... (check out Exodus 3:7-8, Psalm 10:17-18, Amos 5, Isaiah 1:17 & 58:6, Micah 6:8, Matthew 22: 37-40 & 23:23) God hears, sees and knows the anguish of the oppressed, and has called His people to “do justice” in the world... (John 20:21). [PRAYING FOR JUSTICE] One of the

most important ways to “do justice” is prayer. In tackling injustice, we are entering the front line of spiritual battle. Prayer is a powerful and essential weapon. We have to ask - it is after all His work… Prayer... should form, inform and even transform our actions. Mother

Theresa couldn’t imagine doing her work for more than 30 minutes without prayer! Brother Andrew said our prayers can go where we cannot. International Justice Mission’s (IJM) entire work is witness to this… We’ve seen amazing and very specific answers to prayer, enabling us last year to rescue over 3,500 victims, support over 4,000 in aftercare and see real progress in strengthening justice systems. So how can we pray? Be Informed (use IJM’s website to help you)… ask the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s heart and guide you. [Pray into issues that make you angry and distressed]. Ask God to dispel darkness and expose truth, to melt violence and heal broken people, to shrink fear and create courage. Pray into specific situations. Pray on your own and pray with others who care for similar justice issues. “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Rom 12:12) Steve Webster

God of Justice

SPARK in the Park