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Lymington United Lymington United Lymington United Lymington United

Reformed Church Reformed Church Reformed Church Reformed Church

FEBRUARY FEBRUARY FEBRUARY FEBRUARY 2012201220122012

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FROM OUR MINISTER Dear friends, By the time you receive this magazine I will have been living in Lymington for almost three months and will have been your minister for over two months. Well, they do say that time flies when you’re enjoying yourself! I have been made very welcome by the church, by Churches Together in Lymington and Pennington, by my neighbours and by the community as a whole. I am immensely grateful for these expressions of love because each and every welcome that I receive helps me to settle and become part of what is, for me, a totally new community. Another expression of love comes in the month of February when Valentine’s Day is celebrated with much sloppy sentimentality. Red hearts abound in all of the card shops and from an increasingly young age children send cards saying, “Be my Valentine”. Hearts are broken when no card is received and confusion is caused when they are received by an unknown admirer. February, of course, is also the month when we often have the most severe weather of the year and those who are homeless can only watch in amazement as party-goers frolic on 14

th February,

while they huddle into door-ways, railway arches and the like in an attempt to find warmth. Over Christmas many of them were helped by organisations like our own Basics Bank, Crisis at Christmas and Inn Churches, another expression of love. Juxtaposing these three thoughts leads me to contemplate the real meaning of love and to wish that we, like the Greeks, had more words to express what we mean by our one word: Storge is the kind of love that we might best term “affection”, the love shown to and

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between people who are, as it were, thrown together by circumstances. It is that kind of love that Lymington’s welcome to me has displayed and it includes the love between family members.

Philia is the kind of love that is expressed in friendship, the kind of love that can be shared by friends of all ages and both sexes, with no ulterior motives or desire for gain. It is enjoyment of each other’s company simply for what it is.

Eros, as you can probably tell from its association with the English word erotic, is the sexual sort of love or even lust, and is what has sullied much of what is today linked with Valentine’s Day. It need not have this negative kind of connotation, however, as it is also what describes being “in love” in its best sense.

Agape, on the other hand, is something completely different. It is a totally selfless kind of love, giving totally for the other person’s sake and is, I believe, what underlies the kind of love shown in the Basics Bank and other groups trying to assist those most in need of help. In its ultimate form it is the love which Jesus Christ showed to the world when he died on the cross because of his love for you and me. As the Bible

says, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lays down his life for his friends.” Having considered these various kinds of love, I would like to ask us all to think about the way we go about loving those with whom we come in contact, for that contact potentially makes a huge difference to them. As we welcome people to our church, let’s try to make sure that we are offering at least “storge”, which has been

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so important to me thus far in Lymington and then consider whether we can go further and move towards “philia” and even “agape”. God bless you all,

Chris

SECRETARY'S NOTES FEBRUARY 2012 Many thanks for all the toys and gifts you gave at our Gift Service. Huge thanks, too, to David Bywater who packed them all, very professionally into a small car...and still had room to spare. It was amazing. The toys were very gratefully received by the Phoenix Children's Centre in New Milton. Ash Wednesday on 22nd signals the start of Lent. Churches Together have a different programme this year, away from the Lent Lunches and Lent Course routine. Phil Wiseman has the 2012 York Course available. Other details have yet to be finalised. Notices etc. will be in Church as soon as possible.

BASICS BANK December was an amazing month. We've been overwhelmed by people's generosity over this Christmas. We extend a HUGE THANK YOU to the New Milton Lions who organised 3 day-long collections at the 3 Supermarkets in New Milton (Morrisons, Tesco and Co-op); to all who contributed to 'Fill a Sack for Santa' at Elmers Court and to Jean-Mark and his team; to our Deputy Mayor, Cllr. Jacqui England and all the Market Traders who sent gifts from their stalls or a monetary contribution (all the gifts were shared between two refuges); to the Hospital staff and visitors and

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to many Churches and individuals who have given money or donations of food etc.. We cannot fully express how grateful we are!! The Basics Bank is now very well stocked with enough goods to last us well into 2012. There's quite a lot of food gone out as well. During December 87 food parcels were given out, helping 209 people. Then there were 120 special Christmas Goody Bags, thanks to Clare and Peter Bassett's organisation. We also provided the two refuges with their Christmas lunches. You could say it's been all go. It's been hard work but an absolute privilege to be part of it. We're incredibly grateful to all the volunteers who put in lots of extra hours checking food in, making up parcels and delivering them. You're a great team!!!

CHILDREN'S BIRTHDAY The Chamberlain brothers, both, celebrate their birthdays this month. We send very happy birthday wishes to Owen who will be 6 on the 1st and to Valentine who will be 4 on the 16th. We hope you have a wonderful day!

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THANKS Many thanks to all that came to my party and for the cards and presents. Best wishes to everyone for the New Year.

Edith

THANKS2 1. Church Flowers. Thank you to all the people who paid for flowers last year. The new list is up at the back of church. If there is a special date you would like please sign the list. 2. Thank you to Roy Saunders for the wonderful Nativity Set. We will remember him and his wife each year when we use it.

Pauline

CHURCH FAMILY NEWS Congratulations to Milly Whitehead on becoming a Great Grandmother with the safe arrival of great grandson, Douglas, on 12th December, weighing in at 9 pounds! We send our love & best wishes to his daddy & mummy (Julian & Cecilia) Helen Owens, sadly, landed up in Southampton Hospital, with a fractured femur, as a result of the severe gales at the beginning of January. She was literally blown off her feet outside her home in Courtlands. We hope that by the time you read this, she will be well on the road to a full recovery. Get well, soon, Helen, we miss you!

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LYMINGTON URC DIARY

EVERY WEDNESDAY the Prayer Group will meet in the Church from 9.15 a.m. until 10.00 a.m. Everyone welcome. COFFEE MORNINGS: EVERY MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY, from 10.00 a.m.—12 noon, in the Open Door Café. Every Tuesday the Open Door Cafe proceeds support the Good News Children's Home in Mombasa and local charities and groups. The Open Door Cafe will also open on Fridays and will be staffed by members of the Fellowship and Fundraising committee. EVERY SATURDAY, from 9.30 a.m.—11.30 a.m., in the hall. SUNDAY WORSHIP EVERY 2nd, 4th and 5th Sunday afternoons Lymington Salvation Army services. The 2nd Sunday will be a service in the Sanctuary and the 4th will be a Cafe service. 5th 10.15 a.m. Elders’ Prayer Time in Vestry 10.30 a.m. Worship including Communion led by Rev'd Chris Vivian 12th 10.15 a.m. Elders’ Prayer Time in Vestry 10.30 a.m. Worship led by Mrs. Mary Chipping

19th 10.15 a.m. Elders’ Prayer Time in Vestry 10.30 a.m. Worship led by Rev'd. Alan Green 26th 10.15 a.m. Elders’ Prayer Time in Vestry 10.30 a.m. Worship led by Sandra Jackson 6.30 p.m. Solent Mead Service EVERY WEEK there will be Junior Church and coffee/tea after the service.

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OTHER EVENTS EVERY FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH, New Forest Disability Information Service Outreach Session in the Open Door Café, 10am to 12noon, with Jean Reece (not on Bank Holidays though). EVERY THIRD TUESDAY OF THE MONTH, from 10.00 a.m.—12 noon, Carers’ Café in the Open Door Café. EVERY THIRD THURSDAY OF THE MONTH, Cruse Bereavement New Forest outreach in the Open Door Cafe 10am to 12noon. Death is a part of life, and grieving a natural process. Cruse is committed to breaking the stigma around grief and ensuring that everyone, no matter how old or young, can access the highest quality support following a bereavement. Trained Cruse Bereavement volunteers will be on hand in the Open Door Cafe to offer help. Tue. 7th 7.00p.m. Elders' Meeting Fri. 10th 12 noon Basics Bank Committee Meeting in the Basics Bank 17th-24th: Minister away Mon. 20th 7.30 p.m. United Prayer and Praise Fellowship meets in the Church led by URC

CLOSING DATE FOR MARCH 'OPEN DOOR’: 12th

FEBRUARY

Free Wi Fi connection to the internet available in the Open Door Cafe, Balcony and Main Hall areas. Just ask for the required password!

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CHURCH MEETING 27 NOVEMBER 2011

By a very clear majority the meeting approved the proposed garden layout and a commitment to stage 1 of the proposals, i.e. the clearing and levelling of the site at a cost not exceeding £2,000, starting in February 2012. In addition the meeting agreed that the plans for the garden should be refined as necessary since there was a potential for reducing the costs of some of the stages of the proposals.

AIRS AND GRACES CONCERT The Airs and Graces concert on the 26th November was enjoyed by many people, including church members and Salvation Army friends. The interval refreshments of mince pies, kindly made by Margaret, and mulled wine, kindly supplied by Judith and Wyn, were also much enjoyed. Thank you to Ian Patterson and everybody involved in any way. The total profit raised for the Open Door Fund was £149.60.

Peter and Gill

FORECOURT PARKING As it is the New Year, just a reminder in regards to this issue that parking is at a premium at the Church due to the fact it is so limited and it is designed with spaces for the Minister, a spare and a disabled area with the space on the Old Manse side as Load/Unload Only. We are so lucky to have a busy Church with the cafe, hirings and Basics Bank potentially operating on a daily basis; but this does not take in to account deliveries, contractors and other

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meetings so please remember the forecourt cannot accommodate everyone and use of the on street parking or the local car parks will significantly help with the forecourt being less congested.

SCRIPTURE CAKE

For those of you who missed Ann Longney’s cake at the Christmas Fayre, here is the recipe: Use the King James Bible! Makes one Medium to Large Cake, 225g Judges 5: v25, last clause 350g 1 Kings4:v22 225g Jeremiah 6: v20 1 Teaspoon 11 Chronicles 9: v9 1 Tablespoon Samuel 14: v25 1 Teaspoon Amos 4: v5 3 Jeremiah 17: v11 A pinch of Leviticus 2: v13 225g 1 Samuel 30: v12 6 Tablespoons Judges 4: v19 175gNahum3:vl2 85g Numbers 17: v8 A 20 cm round deep cake tin, greased with butter and lined with greaseproof paper Bake at 160 for 60 - 90 minutes, testing with skewer after about 60 minutes.

FUTURE EVENTS DIGITAL TV AND THE SWITCHOVER Information packs are available from Helena if anyone would like one. Note that Hampshire will start to "switch" in either early February or March 2012.

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NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR LOCAL YOUNG PEOPLE 1st Lymington and Pennington Scout Group are delighted to announce the launch of “The Way Ahead” Explorer scout unit who are will be meeting on a Thursday evening in Pennington from January. Explorers is the fourth section of scouting, and is aimed at boys and girls from the age of 13.5 years who have been beavers, cubs or scouts and to young people who are totally new to scouting, but who are keen to try something new, face new challenges and who want to do something great. The programme includes a whole range of activities from cooking with cans and learning how to save a life, to cycling, visiting the Isle of Wight to racing cars, trying archery and planning a theme park camp, and we would love to hear from more young people who would like to join our adventure from just £25 a term – a bargain! For more details please contact Helen on 01590 678912 or email: thewayaheadexplorers@gmail.com

THANKS3 A BIG thank you....to all those volunteers who helped with moving the chairs, cafe tables and Dais items for the carpet clean on Friday 6th January - it was very much appreciated and makes things easier with a dedicated crew. A special thanks to Paul who is not a member of the Church but who willingly lent a hand also.

Helena.

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MEMORIES LINGER

We met, we married, a long time ago;

We worked for long hours, wages were low;

No telly, no radio, no bath - times were hard, Just a cold

water tap, and a walk up the yard.

No holidays abroad, no carpets on floors,

We had coal on the fire ~ and we never locked doors

Our children arrived, no ‘PILL’ in those days

And we brought them up without 'STATE AIDS'.

No valium, no drugs, no LSD

We cured our pains with a good cup of tea,

If you were sick you were treated at once.

Not fill in a form and "COME BACK IN SIX MONTHS"

No vandals, no muggings - there was nowt to rob

In fact we were rich with a couple of BOB

People were happier in those far-off days,

Kinder and caring in so many ways,

Milkman and paper boys used to whistle and sing, And a

night at the flicks was our one mad fling

Oh, we all had our share of troubles and strife,

But we just had to face it - "THATS LIFE"

But now we are old and look back through the years

We don't think of the bad times, the troubles and tears.

WE REMEMBER THE BLESSINGS, OUR HOME AND OUR

LOVE!

WE SHARED THEM TOGETHER AND WE THANK GOD

ABOVE.

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NEWS FROM THE NEW FOREST

BASICS BANK!

Did you know you can now donate to the New For-

est Basics Bank “on line” via a Local giving scheme

and we can claim the gift aid through this method

at no extra cost to you (providing you are a UK

tax payer)?

For more details all you have to do is to visit the

New Forest Basics Bank web site home page:

www.basicsbank.org.uk Click on "Make a donation" which will take you di-

rect to the Basics Bank page on the Hampshire &

Isle of Wight Community Foundation verified Local

giving website.

(www.localgiving.com )

THANK YOU

FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!

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IN THE EVENT OF FIRE

KEEP CALM! DO NOT PANIC! DO NOT RUN!

IF YOU DISCOVER FIRE CALL 999 FOR THE FIRE BRIGADE and

RAISE THE ALARM BY INFORMING YOUR GROUP/ACTIVITY

LEADER OR THE NEAREST CHURCH/STAFF MEMBER.

THE FIRE ALARM WILL SOUND.

LEAVE THE BUILDING CALMLY BY THE NEAREST SAFE EXIT.

DO NOT STOP TO COLLECT PERSONAL BELONGINGS.

YOU SHOULD GO TO THE “ASSEMBLY POINT” LOCATED BY THE

SMALLER GATEWAY AT THE FRONT OF THE CHURCH

GROUNDS. AVOID BLOCKING THE PAVEMENT AREA OR OB-

STRUCTING THE MAIN GATE WHICH ALLOWS ACCESS FOR

THE EMERGENCY VEHICLES.

YOU SHOULD NOT LEAVE THE CHURCH SITE UNTIL YOUR

GROUP/ACTIVITY LEADER OR CHURCH/STAFF MEMBER HAS

TAKEN YOUR NAME AND KNOWS YOU HAVE LEFT THE SITE.

(This is important so that the Emergency Services do not attempt

to find you in a burning building.)

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES RE-ENTER THE BUILDING.

FIRE OFFICER CHECKS;

CALL FIRE BRIGADE/EMERGENCY SERVICES ON 999

CHECK ALL ROOMS/TOILETS

ENSURE EVERYONE EVACUATES CALMLY TO THE ASSEMBLY POINT.

RECORD ALL NAMES.

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OPEN DOOR FELLOWSHIP AND FUND-RAISING

Forthcoming events:

The Fellowship and Fundraising Committee is having

a rest in the early part of the New Year, but is plan-

ning activities for 2012. These may include table

sales, skittles evenings, an afternoon at Moore

Blatch, a beach BBQ and a swim at Cathy’s.

Our next planned event for March is a Wii Skittles

evening with fish and chips, date to be confirmed.

Our Christmas Open Door Café openings proved to

be well worth while and we were pleased that our

group members supported the ad hoc coffee teams

on Christmas and New Year’s eves. Together with

the Tombola we managed to raise well over £400.

PLEASE NOTE: This magazine is printed on paper from renewable sources out of our concern for the environment.

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ROTAS FOR MARCH COMMUNION SUNDAY: 5th COMMUNION ELDERS: John and David DUTY ELDER READING IN CHURCH 5th Judith Baker Janice Perkins 12th John Wiseman Margaret Clark 19th Sandra Jackson Maureen Kerr 26th Margaret Clark Alex Luxon STEWARDS SOUND SYSTEM 5th Mike and Norma Bell PR 12th Steve Turberville and Liz Griffiths WD 19th David and Ann Hooper MS 26th Peter and Jill Haslett MC COFFEE MORNING ROTAS Saturday Sunday 4th Judith Baker 5th Shelagh Richardson 10th June Copperi 12th Helena Carr 18th Ann Webber 19th Jenny Henderson 25th Mary Ann Jardine 26th Ann Hooper

CONTACT DETAILS

Minister: Rev’d Chris Vivian. Tel 01590 675633 e-mail: chrisvivian@btinternet.com Church Secretary: Sandra Jackson. Tel 01590 676306 e-mail: secretaryurclym@btinternet.com Magazine Editor: Wyn Davies. Tel 01425 616384 e-mail: WynBDavies@sky.com Church web site: http://www.lymurc.org.uk/ Tel 01590 676306 e-mail: adminurclym@btinternet.com

Centre Manager: Helena Carr. Tel 01590 676306 On site Monday-Friday 8.30am to 2pm. If the main hall doors are locked during these times there is a door bell located at the rear main hall fire exit door Basics Bank web site: http://www.basicsbank.org.uk/ Tel 01590 610008 e-mail: info@lymurc.org.uk