transform magazine issue 25

T he week of 28th

January was a

busy one for

the Christian Union at

Royal Holloway as they

got serious with the

gospel on campus.

This involved a series of coffee

and cake bars, where Ben

Mandley, guest speaker from

All Soul's, delivered talks on

"Jesus & science"," Jesus &

suffering", "Jesus & other relig-

ions", and "Where is God?".

These were engaging and al-

lowed the students to open up discussions with their friends, as

well as other fellow students. Friday's coffee and cake bar fol-

lowed on from Thursday evening's; the two looking at The Cross

and The Resurrection. Thursday evening, known by the organ-

isers as "the Biggie" was extremely well attended - a real an-

swer to prayer. But more than that, everyone seemed chal-

lenged by the discussion, and wanted to stay behind to talk

more, with at least one person praying the prayer of commit-

ment with Ben, giving her life to Christ!

The other evening events consisted of a sports quiz, an interna-

tional food celebration evening, and "question lounge" - with

testimonies from a girl who became a Christian in her first year

at Royal Holloway, as well as from a guy who converted from

Islam at the age of 16. All these events served extremely well in

inviting friends along to hear a Christian message and in meet-

ing new people in whom God is already at work. The Christian

students on campus are beginning to establish relationships

with these people in follow up to the week: by doing an "Uncover

study" with them (which looks at who Jesus is through 6 Bible

studies from Luke), or by inviting them to the Student Alpha

course which began on 7th February. All those involved saw

God's power at work as they made themselves available to be

used by Him, and for Him. It was hard work (continued on page 3)

Issue 16 September-October 2011 Issue 25 March-April 2013

Coffee, Cupcakes and Christ!

Jolandi Augustyn and others give us a

glimpse of the Royal Holloway Christian

Union's Events Week

Jolandi Augustyn—St John’s Student

Worker

“ Witnessing is that deep-seated

conviction that the greatest favour

I can do for others is to introduce

them to Jesus Christ.

Paul Little

Editor’s Bit

transform March—April 13

about

The magazine for members of St John‘s

Church in Egham. It is produced bi-monthly,

with the aim of helping to connect and build

our church family. Its purpose is to provide

information and encouragement on church life

and our family – specifically to show how God

is transforming situations and people.

It‘s not designed for people who don‘t yet

come to St John‘s. But, if when you‘ve

finished reading your copy, you‘d like to pass

it on to a friend or neighbour, then that would

be great too!

Editorial

We welcome items for inclusion or ideas for

stories. Ideally these should be submitted in

an MS Word document, hi - res JPGs or

other elect ronic f o r m , a n d s e n t b y

e m a i l t o [email protected]

The team

transform is edited by Alison Berry and

Laura Evans-Jones, with the support of a

wider team. New skills are always welcome!

Advertising

We accept adverts each issue both from

within the church family, and a small number

of external advertisements. Acceptance of

any advertising is at the discretion of the

editing team, and the acceptance of an

advertisement in transform magazine is not

necessarily an endorsement by the editorial

team of the service or product offered.

Deadlines The deadline for submissions to be

considered for the next edition of transform

(May/June 2013) is 8th April.

Overwhelmed with Wonder

O ver re-

c e n t

weeks I

have been tack-

ling the chal-

lenge of attempt-

ing to memorise

a chapter of

Mark‘s gospel. I

say ―attempting‖,

as I‘m a long way off yet, and despite

thinking that several years of learning

lines for big parts in school and univer-

sity plays would stand me in good

stead, clearly my memory isn‘t what it

used to be!

I have, however, been struck by one

verse – and this one I can now remem-

ber!

“As soon as all the people saw Je-

sus, they were overwhelmed with

wonder and ran to greet him.” Mark

9:15

From the very beginning Jesus has as-

tonished humanity.

The shepherds on the day Jesus was

born were astonished. When the wise

men saw the child King they were over-

whelmed as they fell down and wor-

shiped him. People throughout the Gos-

pels were amazed when Jesus taught

with clarity and authority; they were as-

tonished when he healed the sick, lame

and blind. They were also stunned as

his commands calmed literal storms.

And the two people on the road to Em-

maus were shocked as they realised

they were walking and talking with the

resurrected Messiah.

We have the same opportunity today to

be astonished and amazed by Jesus;

overwhelmed by Jesus‘ love for us and

his whole creation, in awe of how his

love for us moves him and propels him

on a rescue mission to redeem and

transform everything: you, me, those

around us, families, communities, insti-

tutions and culture – Egham and the

world for Christ. And amazed that we

get to join our King in experiencing him

in all his vast richness, in extending the

rule and reign of his kingdom into every

nook and cranny where we live, work,

and play while exalting his name.

As you read through this issue of trans-

form magazine, join me in considering

that being overwhelmed with wonder at

Christ should be the critical core of our

worship and of all our ministries, mis-

sion, outreach, witness and service.

How do people ‗see Jesus‘ in our wor-

ship and in our ministries?

And where in our own lives do we need

to see Jesus and be overwhelmed with

wonder?

transform Editor, Alison Berry

“Our present generation enjoys

more sophisticated toys than ever

before, yet each toy has a shorter

thrill-span than the previous one....

When wonder ceases, boredom and

emptiness begin to stalk existence.”

Ravi Zacharias

See page 7 for our Consumer Detox

Lent Course

A chance to celebrate what God has been

doing in the life of our church over the past

year, to hear important updates, and to

elect the PCC for the coming year.

Wednesday 24th

April 7.45pm

upsa daisy ….

an afternoon of encouragement, a

lifetime of hope

with guest speaker Jennifer Rees Larcombe

Saturday 20th April 2013

2pm to 6pm

Psalm 3:3 But you, LORD, are a shield

around me, my glory, the One who lifts

my head high.

Annual Parochial Church Meeting

(APCM)


Life on Campus

S peaking to people about Jesus is never easy in a culture that

seems to be ever ebbing away from Christianity. That aside, the

week of mission at Royal Holloway University was full of great

encouragements...

Firstly, the boldness with which people were sharing their faith openly

with others was great to see, and a reminder not to shy away from an

opportunity. Furthermore, I must mention all from RHUL Christian Union

who put in a massive effort to reach their friends and fellow students on

campus, whether by giving out flyer, speaking, or hanging around the

hub (with real coffee and fresh cake) waiting for an opportunity to talk to

someone. It was a joy to see. Having never done a mission at University

myself, witnessing the students‘ boldness in talking to people about

Christ and the love he has for them is something by which we should be

greatly encouraged.

One thing that I will take from Royal Holloway‘s Christian Union is the

love and care that they have for each other, and the warmth they show to

those who are new, and those who are strangers. I felt very much wel-

comed by everyone, and it‘s a reminder of what community should be

like under Christ: serving one another, out of love for one another, be-

cause of what Christ has done for us. I am sure that this will be noted by

all who came into contact with RHUL CU, and I heard of one student

who‘d been invited to an event midweek say, ―this is the first time I‘ve felt

at home at university.‖

I hope that Mission Week inspires and compels you all to continue

speaking to your friends about Christ. It has inspired me.

Michael, Apprentice at All Soul's

and tiring, not least because it involved for many

being on campus at the "unthinkable" hour of

8.30 am for the morning prayer meeting! We

were very blessed to have been joined by three

members of All Soul's, as well as two visitors

from Moldova, who were kindly accommodated

by members of St John's.

―Events week was massively exhausting, but

simultaneously so amazing! In CU the week

before we were encouraged to think of friends

we could invite to events, and I struggled to

think of particular events to invite particular

friends to. However, God knew who He wanted me to invite, and He made opportunities for me to explain what was happening

during events week even when I had prepared nothing to say. Two of my friends then came to the coffee and cake bar on the first

day, and were very interested in finding out more, so, as you do, I offered to read the Bible and go through some simple studies

with them. They agreed straight away! We did the first Uncover study and I am already amazed at how God is working in their

hearts and minds. All of the evening events were great too, the last night being on the cross. The room was overflowing with peo-

ple and everyone seemed to be really listening; many people asked questions after the talk. Please keep praying for us on cam-

pus as we seek to share God's love and gospel with students who don't

know Him. Student Alpha and Uncover studies will need to be saturated

in prayer, but we trust that God can change lives, and it is incredible

that He wants to use us in the process!‖ Anna Lawson, Finalist and

member of CU.

(Continued from page 1)

The Christian Union Events week was a fun,

light, cupcake-abundant and educating series

of events, taking place over an intense week,

which explored the various aspects of Chris-

tianity and gave Christians all over campus

the appropriate ammunition to spread the

word of the Lord and the Bible.

Rohan Agarwal, first year attender

“

Spotlight on the Worship Creative Team (WCT)

Transform March—April 13

1) How do you fit into the St

John's puzzle?

I 've been coming to St

John's since I came to

Egham in September 2000

to start uni at Royal Holloway.

I did my degree and didn't

know what to do next so did a

Masters (which was a particu-

larly good decision as during my Masters I met Sacha!). I then took on the role of Student

Worker and then, after a year working for the church, I got a job with an IT company in

Egham in order to stay near Sacha, and to stay in the church which I'd grown to love. Sacha

and I got married (at St John‘s) the summer she graduated from Holloway and we have

been here ever since. A year ago we were blessed with our son, Toby, and are thoroughly

enjoying being parents.

2) What is the WCT? What are your roles within it? What sort of things does your job involve?

The WCT is the Worship Creative Team, and it's made up of all the people involved in the music and tech (sound/lighting/

cameras/projector) at St John‘s. My specific role within it is to look after the Tech side of things. This involves making sure the various services have sound

and projector cover, and also keeping the equipment up to date (a work very much in progress!), and looking at ideas to expand/enhance the equipment, all

with the goal of helping the congregation to engage in the service as well as possible. When I am not fixing all things technical, I can be found playing the

piano, leading Worship or doing sound.

3) What is the best thing about being involved in the WCT? Are there any bad things?!

I always thought as a student and, in fact, as Student Worker, it's a great way to get to know a good bunch of people, so especially as a new comer to the

church, it's a great way to get involved. I guess if I have to give a "bad thing", it would be that it can be a big time commitment, and while that's not usually a

problem, it's become harder now I've become a dad.

4) Leading Worship is a very public, upfront form of service. How do you prepare yourselves for this each week?

A lot of prayer! The weeks that have gone well are telling in that they are the weeks I've prayed the most about the service. Other than that, a

chat with the service leader and the preacher to make sure we're all on the same page helps to hopefully make the service flow and the

songs link in to the theme of the service.

6) What is your vision for the WCT over the coming months/years? What do you want to achieve during your time in charge?

So far I think the biggest challenge for me has been the rota. Part of this is that the teams are a bit stretched at the moment, so I think my aim

for this coming year is to really strengthen the team. I want to build up the numbers, but then following on from that I'd like to get some good

training programs running so that people volunteering can feel confident in their roles and develop their skills. If I can achieve that, then I'll be

very happy.

7) What can the congregation do to help support you both in your roles? What can they do to support the wider work of the WCT?

Well the classic answer, of course, is prayer, but it really does matter. It can be easy to get so caught up in everything going on (rota prob-

lems/equipment breaking at the last minute etc) and find it getting on top of you, so prayer for strength and a clear and wise mind would be

good. Also, we had an absolutely outstanding response to the call for more projectionists, and we're rapidly training those people up, but

we're always on the lookout for more people to get involved.

Laura Evans-Jones

finds out more about

our WCT leaders

Johnny Sheppard

Quick-fire questions:

Favourite Worship Song? You Alone Can Rescue by Matt Redman.

Favourite Bible Character? Jesus

Item you would buy for church if money was no object? A Digital Desk and a Drum

Worship Creative Team

More on the Worship Creative Team in the

next issue of transform magazine….stories

from “old” and new members of the team.

Transform September—October 12

Spotlight on the Worship Creative Team (WCT)

Transform March—April 13

1) How do you fit into the St John's puzzle? I first came

to Egham back in 2000 to study for a degree in Geology at

Royal Holloway. I started coming to St John's around

halfway through my first year. For a few years, I simply

played guitar with the various Worship bands, but over the

last couple of years my involvement in the Worship team

increased, playing and singing more regularly, becom-

ing a Worship Leader, and now looking after the WCT

along with Johnny.

2) What is your role within the WCT? To compliment

Johnny's role of looking after the tech side of Worship, my

role in the WCT is to look after the music side of

things. As well as the more obvious job of organising and

looking after the Worship Leaders and musicians for the

various services at church, I am responsible for develop-

ing the Worship and the music side of the WCT. This in-

cludes collaborating with the rest of the church leadership

to better integrate the musical aspects of Worship into the

rest of the service and considering how we use music (old

songs/new songs/use of different styles).

3) What is the best thing about being involved in the

WCT? The best thing for me is being able to serve God

and St John's with a great group of people through mu-

sic. I recently saw a tweet from Nicky Gumble that said

"Joy is not the absence of trouble but the presence of

God." I think that probably sums it up for me. There aren't

really any "bad things" as such, but the biggest challenge

is time—the old chestnut of work/life balance, and making

sure I'm giving all areas of my life the time they warrant.

4) Leading Worship is a very public, upfront form of service. How do you prepare yourselves for this each

week? Trusting in God's presence. More practically, this revolves around prayer along with discussions with other

members of the service team to organise the service. Actually being upfront, and leading the band and service is only

possible through God's strength. If God weren't present you'd probably see a 'James shaped' hole in the vestry door!

5) What is your vision for the WCT over the coming months/years? What do you want to achieve during your

time in charge? The main focus for the immediate future is to strengthen the team. The WCT as a whole (both on the

musical and tech side) are stretched at the moment, and so it would be great to bring more people onto the team (I'm

plugging it now - get in touch if you are interested in finding out more!). Along with this my ultimate vision for the WCT

is to see a team and church on fire for God, fully engaged and passionate about worship, and everything that means.

7) What can the congregation do to help support you both in your roles? What can they do to support the wider

work of the WCT? Quite simply, prayer. In particular, for me, prayer that I can balance the different aspects of my life

responsibly, clarity of God's plan for worship at St John's, and a discerning heart so that we can use people‘s gifts as

God wants. For the WCT as a whole, prayer for team growth and development and hearts full of passion so we can

serve God, St John's and our community as best we can.

1) How do you fit into the St

John's puzzle?

I 've been coming to St

John's since I came to

Egham in September 2000

to start uni at Royal Holloway.

I did my degree and didn't

know what to do next so did a

Masters (which was a particu-

larly good decision as during my Masters I met Sacha!). I then took on the role of Student

Worker and then, after a year working for the church, I got a job with an IT company in

Egham in order to stay near Sacha, and to stay in the church which I'd grown to love. Sacha

and I got married (at St John‘s) the summer she graduated from Holloway and we have

been here ever since. A year ago we were blessed with our son, Toby, and are thoroughly

enjoying being parents.

2) What is the WCT? What are your roles within it? What sort of things does your job involve?

The WCT is the Worship Creative Team, and it's made up of all the people involved in the music and tech (sound/lighting/

cameras/projector) at St John‘s. My specific role within it is to look after the Tech side of things. This involves making sure the various services have sound

and projector cover, and also keeping the equipment up to date (a work very much in progress!), and looking at ideas to expand/enhance the equipment, all

with the goal of helping the congregation to engage in the service as well as possible. When I am not fixing all things technical, I can be found playing the

piano, leading Worship or doing sound.

3) What is the best thing about being involved in the WCT? Are there any bad things?!

I always thought as a student and, in fact, as Student Worker, it's a great way to get to know a good bunch of people, so especially as a new comer to the

church, it's a great way to get involved. I guess if I have to give a "bad thing", it would be that it can be a big time commitment, and while that's not usually a

problem, it's become harder now I've become a dad.

4) Leading Worship is a very public, upfront form of service. How do you prepare yourselves for this each week?

A lot of prayer! The weeks that have gone well are telling in that they are the weeks I've prayed the most about the service. Other than that, a

chat with the service leader and the preacher to make sure we're all on the same page helps to hopefully make the service flow and the

songs link in to the theme of the service.

6) What is your vision for the WCT over the coming months/years? What do you want to achieve during your time in charge?

So far I think the biggest challenge for me has been the rota. Part of this is that the teams are a bit stretched at the moment, so I think my aim

for this coming year is to really strengthen the team. I want to build up the numbers, but then following on from that I'd like to get some good

training programs running so that people volunteering can feel confident in their roles and develop their skills. If I can achieve that, then I'll be

very happy.

7) What can the congregation do to help support you both in your roles? What can they do to support the wider work of the WCT?

Well the classic answer, of course, is prayer, but it really does matter. It can be easy to get so caught up in everything going on (rota prob-

lems/equipment breaking at the last minute etc) and find it getting on top of you, so prayer for strength and a clear and wise mind would be

good. Also, we had an absolutely outstanding response to the call for more projectionists, and we're rapidly training those people up, but

we're always on the lookout for more people to get involved.

David Ball

James Hammerstein

Worship Creative Team

Quick-fire questions:

Favourite worship song? It's hard to pick just one so here's my current three: Shout for Joy by Paul Baloche. A great

uplifting song of praise. God, I Look to You by Brain & Jenn Johnson. A simple, beautifully written song that reminds

us that it is through God that we get our strength. When I Survey - I grew up listening to Iona and just love their

Celtic arrangement of this beautiful hymn.

Favourite bible character? Noah - He built a big boat, and managed to stop the lions from eating the other animals!

Item you would buy for church if money was no object? Digital sound-desk with "personal in-ears" monitoring system

More on the Worship Creative Team in the

next issue of transform magazine….stories

from “old” and new members of the team.

―...ASCRIBE TO THE Lord THE

glory DUE HIS name;

worship the Lord IN THE

SPLENDOUR OF holiness”

PSALM 29:2


Lent Focus : Living Simply……..

―...WATCH OUT! Be on your guard

AGAINST ALL KINDS OF greed; LIFE DOES

NOT CONSIST IN an abundance of

possessions.” LUKE 12:14

Consumer Detox for Lent

Leah Robson tells us more…..

C onsumerism is everywhere. It shapes the way we eat,

shop, rest, think, love, and believe. We can‘t escape it,

but how can we live well in the midst of it?

Well, ―Consumer Detox‖ is a journey to a simpler, richer, more

generous life.

I recently watched Les Miserables at the cinema and was struck

again by the kind actions of Bishop Myriel, who gives the ex-

convict Jean Valjean food and a bed for the night. Jean Valjean

responds by stealing the Bishop‘s silver. When he is caught he

protests that the silver was given to him by the Bishop. The

Bishop tells the police that he had, indeed given the silver to Jean

Valjean and adds some more to the haul. This is the turning point

in Jean Valjean‘s life and he considers his life spared for God.

There‘s a sense in which that story encapsulates the Lent course

because the Bishop had clearly already been through his Con-

sumer Detox. I‘ll give you three reasons why……

Firstly, the Bishop was openhanded in his generosity, expecting

nothing back, taking the risk that his gift was going to be squan-

dered and giving even more when Jean Valjean repaid his kind-

ness with a lie. This reminds me more of the way that Jesus

talked and lived than it does our society‘s obsession with effi-

ciency, measurable outcomes and notions of the deserving poor

versus George Osborne‘s ―idle scroungers‖. Spend some time

this Lent thinking about the Bible‘s views on generosity and how

we can learn to be more like Bishop Myriel.

Secondly, the Bishop gave not just his money, but also his time.

We will look during the Lent course at both. For some, giving

money is easy, giving time is harder. We also need to find ways

of carving out rest and family space in the middle of our ―always

on‖ culture. Spend some time this Lent discovering what the bible

says about our time and how we can cultivate a Godly attitude to

it.

Thirdly, the Bishop refused to adopt his culture‘s prevailing view

that once a thief always a thief. Jesus said ―Why do you look at

the speck of sawdust in your brother‘s eye and pay no attention to

the plank in your own eye?‖ (Matthew 7:3). The answer is that it is

easier to see someone else‘s problems than it is to see our own.

In the same way, it‘s easier to see the prejudices and exploitation

of nineteenth century France, than those of 21st century Britain.

Spend some time this Lent out in the wilderness with Jesus and

detox from our consumer culture. Then we can start to see the

plank in our culture‘s eye.

I encourage you to join a Lifegroup and pick up the

Consumer Detox materials from Mark Francis. You

could also do the course with your family, or a group of

friends.

.........So that others may simply live : Lent Focus


Lent for Lanka

T raditionally we use the time of Lent to forgo something ourselves in order to benefit others. This year we are focus-

sing on living more simply but even if we do, we will still enjoy far more in terms of food and material goods than the

majority of the world‘s population.

Our new Mission Partner, Child Action Lanka (CAL) is working with street chil-

dren and poor families in Sri Lanka in Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Kilinochchi, Batti-

caloa and Kelaniya.You may have read Timothy Senanayake‘s recent moving

account in transform (Issue 23 : Nov/Dec 12) of his family‘s visit to Kandy last

summer to see for themselves the work that Child Action Lanka is doing.

Sue Stafford has just returned from Kandy and while she was there she made

us aware of additional problems the CAL team face ―Our recent days have been extra challenging because of the heavy

rain and this is now causing flooding in parts of Sri Lanka. This has implications for the crops and there has been a big in-

crease in prices of everything following the previous rain and flooding. As well as this causing hardship for the families CAL

serves, it is also causing hardship for the staff team as it has not been possible to raise salaries in a long time. It is a worry

that very dedicated staff will be unable to stay with

CAL if they cannot live on their low wages.”

The impact of CAL‘s work on the lives of the children

is profound and although Debbie and Dilshan, who

run the mission, are not allowed to preach the Gospel

directly, they can share life changing truth through

their actions and their answers to questions and by

bringing Christ into all they do. They rely on God to

provide them with the resources they need to help

these children. They have very limited funds avail-

able, so any gifts we are able to make during Lent

by living more simply will make a great difference

to what CAL can do now and will help the children

for the rest of their lives. Please bring your gifts

to church on 24th March (Palm Sunday).

Did you know that solar panels

now cost £5,000 for an average

system and generate £10,000

in income and savings across

20 years*? *source Energy Saving Trust

Contact Sustainable Solar Solutions to

talk about an installation for your

home 01784 481151 or email

[email protected]

Chris Matthews explains more about this year’s

Lent Project in support of Child Action Lanka

I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.

Mother Theresa

“

transform November-December 09 Page 8

transform March—April 13 Page 8

Mission Support Team Focus

Bring your full tithes

Chris Matthews updates us on our annual gifts to our

Mission Partners……

Marlene Botha, one of the team at Café Forever, tells transform just what our gifts from

the Toy Service in November meant to their ministry

T oys and play in general, are important when it comes to growing up and learning about the world around us. The young use

toys and play to discover their identity help their bodies grow strong, learn cause and effect, explore relationships, and prac-

tice skills they will need as adults. Adults use toys and play to form and strengthen social bonds, teach, remember and rein-

force lessons from their youth, discover their identity, exercise their minds and bodies, explore relationships, practice skills, and deco-

rate their living spaces.

Thank you so much to all at St John‘s Church, Egham, for the toys that you gave to the children and adults of our community, here on

the Isle of Dogs. These toys were allocated to a number of different families that we are in regular contact with. For some, it was all

they received at Christmas, for others it was the joy of knowing someone was thinking about them during a time that can, for some, be

very sad or lonely.

On one side of the Isle of Dogs are the towering office blocks of Canary

Wharf and the home of multi-billion pound international businesses, yet

in their shadows studies show that the borough of Tower Hamlets has

57% of children classed as ‗living in poverty‘, the largest concentrated

numbers of two ethnic communities (Bangladeshi, representing 22% of

the population, and Somalian) in the UK. The percentage of the popula-

tion who consider themselves Christian in the area is less than half the

UK national average, whilst those that class themselves as Muslim is

over ten times the national average.

The community here on the Isle of Dogs is an amazing mixture of cultures and contrasts. Your gifts brought smiles to faces that

cross over the barriers of language, culture or social classes. They were all welcomed with open arms, and with it we hope that the

message of Jesus through the work here at Café Forever will also be accepted with open hearts as these toys formed and streng th-

ened social bonds as we look to build on these relationships during 2013 and beyond.

Leading someone to Christ can, of course, be a long and slow process, however sometimes the simple act of showing care and con-

cern such as giving toys at Christmas can open up the beginning of a friendship which leads to opportunities to share the Gospel.

If you’d like to find out anymore about the work of London City Mission, or simply give a donation,

then do talk to Mark Davies.

Sometimes the simple act of showing

care and concern such as giving toys

at Christmas can open up the begin-

ning of a friendship which leads to

opportunities to share the Gospel.

“

transform magazine issue 25

Documents

christian students

jesus christ

church family

jesus suffering

christian message

jesus science

evening events

church life