January 01, 2006
VISIT OF CHIEF SECRETARY: LIEUT-COLONEL POKE
On Sunday 29th January 2006, Lieut-Colonels Vic & Roslyn Poke, who are the second in command of the Salvation Army in the United Kingdom will be coming to lead our morning worship here at Histon.
Captain’s Log January 2006
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year! We are now in the year 2006 and only time will tell what this year holds for each one of us. In the Old Testament in 2 Chronicles 16:9, it says that, “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.” What that means for us is that if we seek to be faithful and obedient to God, He wants to give us the strength we need to persevere in our commitment to Him. God wants to help those who are serious about following Jesus in 2006 because not everyone in our world is.
There will be times this year when we may face trials and temptations, discouragement and it may make us waver in our faith. In those times, follow the words of Hebrews 12:2 & 3, “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus … so that we will not grow weary and lose heart.”
There will also be times this year when following God that we will have great joy and happiness and let us remember the words of the Psalm 118:1, “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.”
It will only be when this year reaches its conclusion on 31st December 2006, that we can say whether the year has met our expectations. Yet perhaps the most rewarding aspect of our year will be if we have stayed the course and kept running the race (that is the plan) that God has for our lives. Be encouraged to know that this is not an impossible task. If we stay committed to God, He will give us the strength we need to fulfil His plan for our life and be the person He would have us be.
May God bless you in 2006 as you commit your heart to Him.
Paul Wood
Captain
RSS FEED NOW LIVE -Help at hand
For Those who use RSS then feel free to use our new RSS FEED.
What is RSS?
With thousands of websites around and information on sites that are constantly changing keeping up to date can be very difficult.
Well thanks to "RSS" this helps with this issue as it can deliver news and features to instead of having to click from site to site.
RSS stands for 'Really Simple Syndication'. It allows you to identify what data you would like sent to you.
Not all sites provide at current RSS but as you will see RSS is becoming a very popular tool and many sites are beginngin to adopt it. Sites that have RSS include the BBC, Guardian, New York Times and CNN and many others
How can I start using RSS feeds?
The first thing you need is something called a news reader. We have links to some of the versions available, some can be accessed using a browseror stand alone applications are also available.
Once you have chosen a news reader, you just need to select the information you would like.
This is done by visiting the page with the relevent RSS button
You can subscribe to the feed in various ways, including by dragging the URL of the RSS feed into your news reader or by cutting and pasting the same URL into a new feed in your news reader.
How do I get a News Reader?
There is a range of different news readers available and new versions are appearing all the time.
A Quick search on Yahoo, MSN or Google will almost certainly get you a package.
Still have problems feel free to email my self Edd Stonham email address to the right of this article.
HIGH COUNCIL 2006
This month sees the meeting of the High Council for election of a new General for The Salvation Army. The General is the International Leader of all of The Salvation Army around the world. There will be a Welcome Meeting to the High Council at Westminster Central Hall in London on 21st January at 4:30pm.
The present General John Larsson, will be retiring shortly and so all the Commissioners and leaders of the different countries where The Salvation Army is at work will meet at Sunbury Court in London in what is known as the High Council to elect a new General. The election process can take over a week so please keep all the High council members in your prayers as they seek God’s guidance in choosing the next General later this month.
If you would like to follow the latest news as it happens from the 22nd January onwards, you can log on to the International Website of the Salvation Army which is www.salvationist.org where daily updates can be viewed once the High Council commences. When the new General has been elected, it will be possible to watch the announcement live over the Internet on the website.
CHURCH ATTENDANCE
American actress Reese Witherspoon recently described in a magazine article the benefit of attending church:
I was raised going to church every Sunday, and I go to church most Sundays with my kids. For me, where I'm at in my career, so many people want to put you in a place that you're not real and treat you like you're not real. For me it's a great experience of grounding, and I stand next to people who have nothing and who have everything, and we all treat each other the same, because we all are the same. It's just like a little weekly reminder. So that's helpful to me, actually.
· Citation: Peter T. Chattaway, "The Man in Black," Christianitytodaymovies.com (11-15-05)
January 2006 Diary Dates
Sunday 8th January – Commitment Sunday
Worship at 10am led by Captains Paul & Louise Wood
Sunday 15th January
Worship at 10am featuring the Dedication of Ajay Gristwood led by Captains Paul & Louise Wood
Thursday 19th January
Church/Corps Council at 7:30pm
Saturday 21s & Sunday 22nd January
Divisional Youth Councils at Peterborough Citadel Salvation Army on Saturday 21st and Bury St Edmunds Corn Exchange on Sunday 22nd
Sunday 22nd January
Worship at 10am led by Captains Paul & Louise Wood
Sunday 29th January
Worship at 10am with Lieut-Colonels Vic & Roslyn Poke, Chief Secretary & Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries respectively
Sunday 5th February
Worship at 10am led by Captains Paul & Louise Wood
THE TABLECLOTH
The brand new pastor and his wife, assigned to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve. They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc., and by December 18 were almost finished ahead of schedule. On December 19, however, a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.
On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.
The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory coloured, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colours and a Cross embroidered right in the centre. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall so he bought it and returned to church.
By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus but missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked as it covered up the problem area.
Then he noticed the woman walking down the centre aisle. Her face was like a sheet and she asked where the pastor had got the tablecloth which he explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria!
The woman could hardly believe it and she explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. He was captured, sent to prison and she never saw her husband or her home again.
The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home for that was the least he could do. The woman lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.
What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve and the church was almost full. Afterwards, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return.
One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighbourhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike. He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison.. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between.
The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.
True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
*** NEWS AND INFORMATION *** January 2006
Prayer Requests: Please pray for:
For Adrian, Shiralee, Anya, & Josh Gristwood for the Dedication of Ajay Gristwood on 15th January
Peter & Diana Stanyer as Peter recovers from his recent heart attack.
Christmas Carolling & Windows
Thanks very much to the Band and their collectors who raised £863.87 this year carolling outside the Grafton Centre.
Thanks also the Sunshine Club, Home League, Ladybird Play & Toddler Group and 1st Impington Rainbows for the lovely Christmas displays they did in the church windows last month.
Christian Books for Sale
We now have for sale a selection of Christian books by Bill Hybels, John Ortberg & Rob Harley that are supplied by the Willow Creek Association. Please have a look on the display stands if you would like to purchase one.
Church / Corps Council:
If you have any items to be included on the Agenda of the next Church/Corps Council meeting on 19th January please let a Council member know.
Newsletter Articles
If anyone has any news that they would like to be included in the next newsletter, please let Captains know by the 20th February.
WEEKLY ACTIVITIES JANUARY 2006
SUNDAY
Morning Worship at 10am
JAM Club (Sunday School) at 11:30am
Housegroup at 4pm at Captains (4th Sunday of the month)
MONDAY
2:15pm to 3:30pm – Sunshine Club (Over Sixties Club)
8pm to 9:30pm – CAMEO Club for Ladies
TUESDAY
2:15pm to 3:30pm – Home League (Ladies Fellowship)
3:45pm to 4:30pm – Home League Singers Practice (fortnightly)
3:45pm to 4:30pm – Home League Bible Study (monthly)
7pm to 8pm – Band Practice
THURSDAY
6:30pm to 7:30pm – Singing Company
The Ladybird Play & Toddler Group meet in our church on Monday to Friday mornings. Please contact Linda Woodward (tel: 233503) for further information.
The 1st Impington Rainbow Guides meet on a Monday from 4:30 to 5:30pm. Please contact Lucy Garner (tel: 237117) for further information.
The 1st Histon Brownies meet on a Wednesday from 6pm to 7:15pm. Please contact Frances New (tel: 233126) for further information.
DIVISONAL YOUTH COUNCILS
Divisional Youth Councils will be held later this month of the weekend of Saturday & Sunday 21st & 22nd January. There will be differing events taking place at Peterborough Citadel Salvation Army on the Saturday such as workshops on dance, drama, mission and mentoring and an unplugged concert. On the Sunday at Bury St Edmunds Corn Exchange they will be having two times of worship together under the theme of ‘Empowered’ for anyone aged 12 to 25. Please remember our young people in prayer and if anyone would like tickets, see Captains.