Page 36 - Phonebox Magazine November 2014

Churches Together Newport Pagnell
Letter From A Minister
Klaus Reidel
Not many people say that November is their favourite month. Perhaps if your birthday is in November that brightens it up a bit, but for most of us it is associated with cold, wet weather and early nights. Remembrance Day, important as it is to remember all those who have died in wars, doesn’t tend to cheer us up either.
Fortunately, the Church Year offers plenty of consolation. Firstly, is All Saints Day, which is a beautiful opportunity to remember the great saints of the church. They can inspire us in our daily lives, because they are such wonderful examples of Christian living. All Saints is followed by All Souls Day, when we think of all the unsung Christians of the past - ordinary people, just like us.
At the end of November, the Church Year ends with the Feast of Christ the King, where we recognise Jesus as the king of the universe. For Catholics, this year’s feast is particularly important, because it brings to an end the Year of Faith. During this period, we were asked to make a special effort to renew and strengthen our faith in various ways, such as through prayer, scripture reading and worship. This is, of course, something we should continue to do. December starts the new church year with Advent, which can help us to continue in this way.
CTNP Covenant Service
The service takes place on Sunday 17th November at 6pm, at St Peter & Pauls, and will take the form of a Songs of Praise service. Each Church in the Town will provide one Hymn, with the person choosing the Hymn to say what it means to them. There is no Sermon, but the reading of the Covenant. Music will be provided by Musicians from the Baptist Church. – Everybody is welcome
Girls Brigade
The 1st Newport Pagnell Girls’ Brigade Company meets every Thursday night, from 6.30pm till 9.30pm at Lovat Hall. We provide opportunities for girls and young women to gain relevant skills, and have a place to go which is fun and lively. We look at many topics and issues, such as: Working together, disabilities, relationships, God, sports, charities, and fundraising.
Explorers (School Years 1–3) meet from 6.30pm till 7.30pm, and cost s£1.30 each night. They do a range of activities, from games, to crafts and cooking, devotions to learning new skills. All our girls have a lot of fun and enjoy every part of the night, including tuck! Explorers are planning a party at the moment to invite their friends to. They’ve made invites and their own party hats.
Juniors (School Years 4-6) meet 6.30pm till 7.45pm and do similar things to the Explorers. Currently, they are studying Noah, and have been making boats and building marshmallow and spaghetti towers. They play lots of games and learn many new things, as well as having time to study God.
Seniors (School Years 7-9) and Brigaders (School Years 10-13) meet from 8pm till 9.30pm. Again, we have games and devotions as well as our badge work. Our project at the moment is redesigning a large board that is to be displayed permanently in Lovat Hall, and we are creating our own t-shirts. Oh, and we also always have yummy food to munch on while we meet. We even have One Direction themed devotions and Sumo Suits!
Our GB Company has been getting involved with a lot of different activities, both nationally and internationally. We will be taking part in a national GB competition called T’eam Challenge’, where we will be doing activities as teams in our own companies, then submitting the scores to Head Office.
We have also recently had a Tea Party to celebrate GB’s 120th anniversary. We had lots of photos, memorabilia and scrummy homemade cakes. I have been chosen to be one of seven to represent GB England and Wales in Cape Town, South Africa in December at ‘The Gathering’. ‘The Gathering’ is a conference with 111 young women from GB companies around the world, meeting up to discuss current issues that young women face and how Girls’ Brigade can help them. As well as all these exciting chances, you have the opportunity to do Young Leader and Officer training, as well as work towards your Queen’s Award and Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
If you would like to know more information then please contact myself,
Sarah Dillon, Captain of 1st Newport Pagnell Girls’ Brigade on: semily89@ live.co.uk or 01908 618898.
Newport Christmas Lights
Saturday 30th November, all day – There are a number of events around the town, including during the day the CTNP “Get in the Picture” event. Please come and see us in the High Street outside the Swan Revived. The URC Church are fundraising for the Mead Centre (Church Hall) with hot and cold drinks, hot dogs and popcorn.
Newport Parish is again planning for its Christmas Fair in the Parish Church. We’ll be there all day with our usual stalls and some new ideas as well. It will be once again a warm, welcoming place, to come and enjoy some part of your trip to the Christmas Lights.
As usual we will be offering our large selection of refreshments as well as our well-stocked home-baked cake stall. Browse the book pews or choose a Jigsaw Puzzle for Christmas. Our craft and card stall have lots to offer and it’s always worth buying a ticket or two for the raffle. Children are included with a toy stall, the bric-a-brac will be full of bargains and we’ll have a stall overflowing with scarves, to keep you warm and elegant. When the lights are switched on, join us in the church for some carol singing. It’s a lovely way to end the day.
Bridgebuilder Annual Barn Dance
Saturday 23rd November @ 7.15pm – Lovat Hall, Silver Street, Newport Pagnell.
Contact Gill at the following email address: office@mkbt.org.uk
To buy your tickets - £10 each (no concessions) - cost includes food in the interval. Choose from fish and chips, chicken and chips, sausage and chips or veggie burger and chips. Bring your own drinks and glasses.
Toucan Crafts and Traidcraft food will be on sale - bring your money and do some Christmas shopping.
ANY OLD IRON
FREE COLLECTION OF ALL METAL
KEEP SAFE use ONLY licensed collectors
• Know who is on your property
• Help removing old appliances
• Fridge freezers taken at cost
• No waiting for the Council
• Registered Metal Recycler
LOCALLY BASED
Please Call David 07554 661449
the wool shop
crazy about cables? intrigued by intarsia? longing to lace? good news!
new exciting two-hour workshops for 2014 full list available as from 1st December
call us on
01234 910547 www.the-wool-shop.com
thewoolshopOlney
36 Phonebox Magazine