newsletter no. 286 august 2018 · pastor keith rown elder: howard cookjohn 6: 56 if you know anyone...

Newsletter No. 286

August 2018

Minister

Pastor Keith Brown

965706222 666180108

E-mail: [email protected]

Assistant Minister

Jeanie Cooper E-mail: [email protected]

Hon. Minister

Rev. Alberto Araujo

Minute & Administrative Secretary

Susan Stacey

Tel.: 966713794 E-mail: [email protected]

Pastoral Secretary

Kathy Walton-Brown

Tel.: 666180118

Newsletter 286

August 2018

Hi everyone. It certainly is warming up although we shouldn’t complain as this is one reason why we have chosen to live here....better weather than the U.K. although judging by the last couple of weeks temperatures there have been similar to ours over here. I am sure it won’t last. Many of you have or will be going back to the U.K. to visit family and friends. Have a lovely trip, take care and safe travel. Looking forward to seeing you all when you return in the autumn. As I said in my earlier letter this time in the church’s year is called Ordinary time. We have heard all about the birth, the crucifixion, the Ascension into Heaven and Pentecost...now is the time to hear about Jesus’ miracles, the calling of a His disciples, and His teaching through His parables. His parables were based on images that would have been very familiar to the crowds who followed Him everywhere. We heard how He healed Jairus’s daughter. Jairus, a well respected person from the Temple, risking all for her sake. We heard how He knew the unclean woman had been healed through touching His cloak...her faith was strong so it healed her. We shall be hearing about the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 using five loaves and two fish. We also heard how Jesus’ fellow Nazarenes refused to recognise Him or accept His teachings because to them he was just a carpenter who should be making His living through his own sweat and tears,. They had little faith in Him and did not bring many to Him for healng. Despite this the crowds that followed Him everywhere He went wanted more...unfortunately although they recognised Him as a king no He was not the sort of King they wanted. They were looking for someone to free them from Roman rule.. Later we learn from Jesus that He is the Bread of life....and can give us what we need provided we are prepared to listen to Him. I wonder how many of us actually put aside time to pray....not only to ask for what we need but to say thank you for what we have and to listen to what He wants us to do. We don’t need to work at building a relationship with God we need to listen and try and do as He wants us to. We need to open our hearts and our ears to His guidance. During these very warm days we need to be aware of those around us who may be vulnerable and who may need more support than before. Put yourselves out for others where it’s needed. Be on the lookout for those in need....be there for those in time of stress. Don’t forget that miracles can and do still happen....the miracle of the surgeon’s skills in particular. Successful operations due to the skilled doctors. as we have heard so recently in church. It’s amazing what they can achieve. Please take care of yourselves, but enjoy your life out here. Keep fit and healthy in this very warm weather and take plenty of water with it! God bless you all

La Siesta Evangelical Church

Pastora Jeanie.

DIARY FOR AUGUST

SUNDAY 5th

MORNING SERVICE 09:30am

SUNDAY 12th SERVICE OF WORSHIP 11:15am

SUNDAY 19th

MORNING SERVICE 09:30am

SUNDAY 26th 11:15am

SUNDAY Sept. 2nd MORNING SERVICE 09:30am

Please remember in your Prayers

Pastor Keith Brown Elder: Howard Cook

Newsletter 286

August 2018

Flower donations will resume after the summer break

Floral Donations

Pastora Jeanie Cooper Elder: Sue Weaver

Pastora Jeanie Cooper Elder: Sue Weaver

Pastor Keith Brown Elder: Howard Cook

If you know anyone who is sick, at home or in hospital, please advise the Minister or any Elder so that a

visit can be arranged.


HOLY COMMUNION

Pastora Jeanie Cooper Elder: To be announced

Ephesians 4: 1-6

John 6: 24-35

Ephesians 4: 25 - Ephesians 5: 2 John 6: 35 and 41-51

Ephesians 5: 15-20 John 6: 51-58

James 1: 17-24 Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Ephesians 6: 10-20 John 6: 56-69

Minister’s Letter

1

Church Diary 2

Visit of Alfredo Abad

3-4

Maggie’s Centres

5-6

Mozambique 7

Magnets 8

Mini-Golf Anniversary Appeal

9

Organisations 10

Church Info 11

In this

Edition

Sandra, and family of Ken Garman Alison Ledwith Jack Doonan Jim Anderson Chas & Jackie Garrett Mike Bruton Keith Ryalls Linda Perry Laura Loft Mike Ramsbottom Ken Webb Ian (Br of Sandra Garman)

John Gantley Sara Suarez Myrna & Roger Coleman Dennis Silverton Jo Simkiss Harold & Doris Wray Sandy Hollywood Stuart Ray Eva Tucker Pat Cloverly Kelly Blackwood Matthew (G/son Phyllis Bell)

Whitney Lewis Malcolm Skevington Rick Boyle Sue Howells Joyce Curtis Terry Rippon Mary Hatherell Geoff Cooper Annette Crombie

Newsletter 286

August 2018 Page 3

Continued on

Present:- Alfredo Abad, Daniel Manzanas, Helen Tudor, Jean McNary, Sharon Rippon, Sue Weaver, Irene Arch, David Linsell, Sue Stacey, Gordon Newlands, Kathy Walton Brown, Howard Cook, Jeanie Cooper. Sue Stacey and Jeanie Cooper welcomed Alfredo to the Elders Meeting and apologised on behalf of Pastor Keith Brown and Jack Doonan, as they had prior commitments and were unable to stay for this part of the meeting. Alfredo began by apologising for his late attendance. He had not realised it would take him so long to drive from Valencia and unfortunately, added to this, he had also lost his way in Torrevieja which had also made him later. Alfredo said he would like to hear any questions the Elders might have for him. Jean McNary asked if Alfredo could explain why our Ministers could not conduct “Full” Weddings, but only Wedding Blessings, even though they were Ordained Ministers. Alfredo replied that our Ministers could apply to FEREDE for a certificate to allow them to conduct a “Civil” Protestant Wedding, but there were still a number of rules which applied to the couple wishing to have this marriage, such as one of them had to be a resident of Spain, and they too had to apply for permission to have a Protestant marriage. Helen Tudor said following on from this last question could Alfredo explain what the policy of the I.E.E. is regarding conducting Wedding Blessings for same

sex couples. Alfredo said that all communities were different and there was no exact Church position. Since 2005 there had been Civil Weddings taking place in Spain and he felt it was very important that same-sex couples have Civil Rights, however this was not understood by other Evangelical Churches. He did not want division, such as at the Synod in 2015, and hoped to work with different communities. Alfredo did not believe the Mamré Declaration was a Christian attitude. He knows that there had been Civil marriage services in Barcelona and Madrid but could not say about other churches. Kathy Walton Brown asked how big the I.E.E. was, in terms of size, compared to other Evangelical Churches within Spain. Alfredo replied that there were 3,270 active congregations, but only 200 of these were Ecumenical, of which there were 30 in the I.E.E. Most were non-ecumenical. For instance there were 300,000 Germans living in Spain but he could not say how many were members. There could be a lot more than the 3,270 he had mentioned. Sue Weaver then asked how the I.E.E. financed itself. Alfredo said that the I.E.E. was now self-financing. However, up to 1983 the I.E.E. had received 40% financing from ecumenical support, but since that date the support had decreased so that the I.E.E. had gradually increased its own methods of supporting itself. The I.E.E. had done this by renting and selling properties so that since around the year 2000 the I.E.E. was 90% self-financing. Alfredo went on to say that, since the support ended in the year 2000 the

VISIT OF ALFREDO ABAD, PRESIDENT OF I.E.E.

At the Elders’ Meeting of June 22nd we were delighted to welcome Alfredo Abad,

President of the IEE who had travelled from Madrid to attend our meeting and discuss any

points raised by our Elders and congregation. He was accompanied by Daniel Manzanas,

President of the Presbytery of Levante.

The following is a report on the meeting.


Newsletter 286

August 2018


churches in Germany and Switzerland could no longer finance Spain. Because the I.E.E. wished to maintain and pay the pensions of its Pastors there was now a deficit of 100,000 euros. Even though they had won in the Courts of Human Rights they were still struggling with the Spanish State and were now taking all the cases to the European Tri-bunals for appeal so that the Spanish State would pay all the Pastors pensions in the future. Sue Stacey said that the Elders understood that a number of Ministers within the I.E.E. are on half-salaries. Sue asked Alfredo how these decisions were made? Was it up to the Permanent Commis-sion to make these decisions? Alfredo replied that there were 3 levels. Firstly, the Presbytery would decide on its budget and make a decision as to how the churches within the Presby-tery would finance the Pastors and their churches. If it was decided by the Presbytery that it could not finance the salary of a Minister, they would apply to the Permanent Commission who would agree on how many Pastors there should be. The Third level was the Ministers Commission. Alfredo went on to say that in Extramadura, for in-stance, the Pastor was on half-pay as he only had 20 people in his congregation. In the past it was usual that if the Church could not finance a Pas-tor’s salary then they didn’t have a Pastor. Howev-er, now it depends on the circumstances, and it would be up to the Presbytery to talk about whether a Pastor should be on half or full salary and then put this forward to the Permanent Commission who would make a decision. There were no more questions. Alfredo then went on to say that the President of our Presbytery, Daniel Manzanas, wished to meet regularly with Pastor Keith. Alfredo said he wanted to speak about the economic situation and our con-gregation. Alfredo wanted to explain to the Elders that the I.E.E. had a system where the monies from everyone was shared. Therefore some put more into the system than others and it was all used to help those who could not finance themselves. In this way there was a balance maintained for all. Alfredo said that La Siesta should make its budget

with the Presbytery and prepare this in time to put it forward to the Permanent Commission. The Elders put forward that our congregation was declining and because of Brexit and the economic situation, we were not getting many new people into our congregation. Alfredo said he wanted to mention the support that David Manzanas was now getting from the Social work with “Camino”. He had been promised finan-cial support for 5 years. Alfredo said we still need to work in October and present a budget so that the Treasurer in Madrid can account for the overall amounts needed by the I.E.E. It was pointed out that we had never been involved in any budgets prior to this and had not seen any budget information. Alfredo said he would organ-ise for the previous budgets to be sent to Susan Stacey. It was also pointed out by Sue Weaver that it did not appear that the Spanish Churches within the I.E.E. were as pro-active as ourselves in obtaining financial support. Alfredo said that in his churches in Madrid that he had 30 families who gave approximately 60 euros per month. It was pointed out by the Elders that this was just relying on collections, whereas we actively did other things to raise funds, such as Jean McNary handing over 100 euros to Howard which had been collected by giving out refresh-ments after our late services. The Elders also pointed out that we have specific fund raising events. It was decided that the difference in cul-tures prevented the Spanish Churches following our lead and Alfredo pointed out that there were approximately 150 old buildings within the I.E.E. which were very expensive to maintain. Alfredo thanked everyone for meeting with him and said he wanted to maintain contact and would like to visit again, possibly once a year.

La Siesta Evangelical Church Newsletter 286

August 2018 Page 5

MAGGIES’S CENTRES

Recently during my Prayers of Intercession I spoke of the work of “Maggie´s Centres”

which provide a caring environment for cancer sufferers and their families.

“Maggie´s Centres” is formally called “The Maggie Keswick Jenks Cancer Caring Trust” but

it is known far and wide simply as “Maggie´s”. It was founded by and named after the late

Maggie Keswick Jenks, but who was Maggie?

Maggie Keswick was born in October 1941 at Cowhill in

Dumfries to John Keswick and Clare Elwes. Her father

was a prominent businessman with Jardine, Mathieson

a Scottish-Chinese trading company and this took the

family to Hong Kong and Shanghai.

After reading English at Oxford Maggie worked in

fashion before studying at the Architectural Association

in London. In 1978 she married the American, Charles

Jenks, a writer and landscape artist. They shared a love

of garden design.

In 1988, at the age of 47, Maggie was diagnosed with breast cancer. Initially Maggie beat

her cancer but in 1993 she was given the devastating news by her Dumfries oncologist

that not only had the cancer returned, but that now it had spread to her bones, liver and

brain.

She wrote at the time “no patient should be asked however kindly and however

overworked the hospital staff, to sit in a corridor without further inquiry, immediately

after hearing they have an estimated three to four months to live”.

Her experience of waiting in a windowless corridor, trying to deal with her diagnosis was

the spark which gave her the “Big Idea” of changing the miserable surroundings and

providing somewhere with a friendlier, brighter atmosphere.

Maggie was referred to an advanced chemotherapy programme at the Western General

Hospital in Edinburgh. Maggie was suited to the programme and her cancer went into

remission allowing her to live for a further two years.

In 1994 along with Laura Lee, her Oncology Nurse, Maggie began to write up her ideas for

a Cancer Caring Centre and a working party was formed. Maggie met with the Chief .

Newsletter 286

August 2018 Page 6


Executive of the Western General, a site within the hospital was identified and an architect

selected. In the last month of her life a Charity Trust was formed and Maggie helped to

raise £70,000.

On 8th July 1995 Maggie succumbed to her disease aged 53.

The Charity Trust was formally founded as the Maggie Keswick Jencks Cancer Caring

Centres Trust.

In November 1996 the first “Maggie’s” was opened in Edinburgh at the Western General

Hospital in an old stable block. Right from the start public fund raising was an intrinsic part

of “Maggie’s”. In 2016 £19.5 million which enabled the Trust to build new centres and

invest further in their programme of support.

There are “Maggie’s” , each unique, all over Britain as well as in Hong Kong and Tokyo. At

these centres, those affected by cancer find the support they need: cancer support

specialists; benefits advisers; nutritionists; therapists; and psychologists. The palliative care

they give complements the work of the hospitals.

There is a determination not to lose “ the joy of living in the fear of dying”.

Truly “Maggie’s Centres” are inspirational places.

Gordon Newlands

Statue of Maggie Jencks at Maggie's Centre in Edinburgh

Newsletter 285

July 2018


MOZAMBIQUE

The following sad news has been received from Brig Bayliss. Please pray for Tracey and the

families of her friends who have tragically died.

Please pray for Tracey and some of those close to her. Two sudden deaths this weekend have hit her, and others, hard.

On Saturday, Tracey heard of the death of one of the missionary children she had taught in Brazil. He was a flying instructor with Moody Aviation, training missionary pilots. A training flight came down with him and 2 students killed. He leaves three young children and a wife who is 4 months pregnant. Tracey wrote: "That news rocked my world."

Then yesterday, Sunday, morning "one of my good friends and a fellow missionary, Betty (she ran the sewing programme here and her husband Bob, the carpentry) passed away. She suffered from migraines and had been unwell since Friday - was alive but unresponsive when Bob woke her this morning. Our medical team took her to hospital but within 10 minutes of arriving the doctors pronounced her dead. We are numb."

Tracey has known Betty since 2004, and she and Bob have been a strong support and great friends to her. They were like grandparents to many children on the Centre.

Our Zimpeto Base is home to over 200 amazing children and there is never a dull

moment! Thank you so much to all of our amazing Zimpeto sponsors for investing in our

children's lives. You are making an eternal difference!

The World Cup also impacted on Zimpeto!

Summary from one of my household's 5 year olds - the

"white shirts" won - and the reds kept falling over!!! Out

of the mouths of babes ....

Goooooooal!

Newsletter 286

August 2018 Page 8 La Siesta Evangelical Church

SITUATIONS VACANT

Organist required immediately

Treasurer required January 2019

MAGNETS 2018

Once again “MAGNETS” children’s club run by Rev. Steve Campbell and his wife Irene-

Maria returns for 2018 . Meetings each Thursday from 26th. July until 3rd. August from

10:30am to 12:30pm. All children from 4 upwards are welcome.

There are no charges

Newsletter 286

August 2018 Page 9 La Siesta Evangelical Church

MINI-GOLF TOURNAMENT

Another of our popular Crazy Golf Outings will be held on Friday October 19th at 10:00am

for 10:30am at Quesada Mini Golf.

Tickets cost 13€ which includes a round of crazy golf, a three course lunch and one drink

(beer, wine or soft).

Tickets will be on sale from Sunday 19th. August.

Remember - an ability to play golf is not necessary!

ANNIVERSARY APPEAL

Since the inauguration of our Church, an “Anniversary Appeal” has been run with

donation envelopes pasted in the May edition of our newsletter. Some of you will have

noticed that the envelopes did not appear as usual this year.

There are two reasons for this. Firstly the timing coincided with the appeal which was

made to send Tracey on retreats in Switzerland and Croatia as we learned from those

around her that her need for a proper break was becoming a necessity. As you know the

money raised by our congregation exceeded all expectations.

Secondly, the money raised has fallen substantially in the last few years and has also

produced a reduction in the normal collection to the point at which the scheme was not

really viable.

A suggestion was made to the Elders that it would be a good idea to scrap the annual

appeal and this was approved subject to the possibility of reinstating it the future if

circumstances so justified.

Howard Cook, Treasurer

Visit our website on www.lasiestaevangelicalchurch.org

Page 10

Our Prayer Chain addresses both concerns and joys. The information passed along is strictly

confidential.

All you need to do to be part of our prayer chain is to phone Megan Wright on 96 678 5513 or

Sharon Rippon on 96 678 6503 or [email protected]

PRAYER CHAIN

CHURCH CHOIR

Choir Practice is now in

Summer recess

BIBLE STUDY

Contact Pastor Keith or

Jeanie Cooper for details

Newsletter 286

August 2018

PRAYER FOR AUGUST


Submitted by Deborah and Nicola Capewell

To All That Have Visited La Siesta Church

As you leave

may the presence of Christ go with you

may the peace of Christ enfold you

may the love of Christ fill you

may the strength of Christ up hold you

may the joy of Christ up lift you

and as you journey on

may the light of Christ guide your way.


Page 11

VISITORS

OUR CHURCH

Newsletter 286

August 2018

La Siesta Evangelical Church is an ecumenical English speaking congregation drawn from

Baptists, Methodists, United Reform, Church of Scotland, Presbyterian Church in Ireland

and several other denominations. We belong to the Iglesia Evangélica Española or Spanish

Evangelical Church, a Presbyterian Church in which we are part of the Presbytery of

Levante.

Our Membership Secretary is Helen Tudor and you should contact her or any other Elder at

any service if you are interested in joining our Church. Helen´s telephone number appears

in the Elders section on this page.

If you are a visitor we cordially invite you to sign the visitors' book at the front door. We do

have many visitors especially in the holiday months and it is very easy for "new faces" to be

missed. You will notice that the Elders and members of the Fellowship Committee are

identified by badges and we urge you to attend the refreshments after the service and to

introduce yourselves. We are really interested in meeting visitors to our services.

Irene Arch 96 679 9693 Gordon Newlands 96 671 8425

Deborah Capewell 67 950 1543 Sharon Rippon 96 678 6503

Howard Cook 96 670 0131 Sue Stacey 96 671 3794

Jack Doonan 96 676 9616 Helen Tudor 96 671 7582

David Linsell 86 577 2405 Kathy Walton Brown 96 570 6222

Jean McNary 96 502 0342 Sue Weaver 86 560 8114

CHURCH ELDERS (Please contact if required)

The next issue of this newsletter will be published on August 26th . Contributions may be sent to

the editor, Howard Cook, in writing, by e-mail to [email protected] or by telephone to

96 670 0131

newsletter no. 286 august 2018 · pastor keith rown elder: howard cookjohn 6: 56 if you know anyone...

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