Kempston East

Methodist

Church

e-Newsletter

June 21, 2020

Minister: Rev Prof. Peter Byass

(07711 077808)www.kempstoneastmethodist.org

1Ruth and Boaz

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Letter from Stuart Simms

Father’s Day

In the past years on this day, we have been outside our church, usually in the sunshine with a band and worshipping in the open air. This year is very different; we cannot even meet together as a church, only on the computer via Skype or Zoom.

Things are not only different at church but at work and at home, and Fathers are affected in many ways. Not going to work but working from home, or not working at home, but there are always things to do. A classic example in these difficult times includes my neighbour who has a 7 year old son and has the task of home-schooling him. He is finding this very challenging, and a real struggle to get some learning done. Fortunately, the weather has been good so there have been lots of outdoor activities to keep the young mind occupied.

We are keen Springwatch viewers and one of cameramen who was not working, was at home with his two children. So he made their garden into a wildlife garden with a pond and rough areas to entice creatures in. The children loved it; it was a great adventure. As for myself, my son and I got into putting up a new fence with new posts, and we made a new store shed for tools, bikes, lawnmower etc. We both learned a lot.

Many musical families have been making music with their children and putting it online for all to see and hear. Then there are daily walks which have been good for us as a family. Time to take in what plants and wildlife are around us, as well as have good discussions along the way, without distractions.

A good friend of mine, who is a father with two children living in a 7th storey apartment in the centre of town, was in real need of something to occupy his mind, apart from home-schooling. He asked me if I could help him in the art of spoon-carving, so I sorted this for him with tools and wood. He can now be at home having time to himself doing something creative, as he is a hands-on person.

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Letter from Stuart Simms

As Fathers, we have to be adaptable especially in these difficult times, like our Heavenly Father who is always prepared to listen to us and be involved in all we do and are. We too, need to be open to our Spiritual Father, and a song comes to mind which helps us keep in touch:

Jesus lead us to the FatherBy your Spirit, help us draw near.Jesus lead us to the FatherBy your Spirit, help us draw near.

As we come with awe and gladness,Help us draw near.As we come with awe and gladness,Help us draw near.

Alleluia, alleluia, help us draw near.Alleluia, alleluia, help us draw near.

Sam Hargreaves (Singing the Faith 29)

As Fathers, we have a lot of responsibilities and certainly need all the encouragement and support we can get, especially in these difficult times. Whether we are spending more time with our families or we are not allowed to see them at all, there is always someone there to talk to and listen, so do not feel alone or helpless [Joshua 1 v9].

Take care everyone and hopefully see you soon

Stuart Simms

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National Days and Weeks

Children’s Hospice Week (22-28 June)This year is the 23rd year of Children’s Hospice Week. It’s a week dedicated to raising money for and awareness about the 49,000 children living in the UK with conditions that limit their lives. It’s also about helping the services that offer them a most important lifeline.

National Writing Day (24 June)Do you write? Not just scribble post-it notes, but actually write? Poetry? Stories? Even keep a journal? The message of National Writing Day is easy: everyone has a story to tell and sharing it can be a source of pleasure and power.

Day of the Seafarer (25 June)This is an annual event day coordinated by the International Maritime Organisation. This year the Day will recognise the unique contribution made by seafarers from all over the world to international seaborne trade, the world economy and civil society as a whole, with the theme ‘Seafarers Matter’.

United Nations Stop Torture Day (26 June)The United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is held annually on 26 June to speak out against the crime of torture and to honour and support victims and survivors throughout the world.

And to end with….

National Parma Violets Day (June 26)Only in Britain could there be an awareness day devoted to a sweet, and one that tastes of violets at that, but they’ve been made by Swizzels for 70 years.

More on NHS Track and TraceA couple of issues ago, I warned you of possible scams related to the new NHS ‘Track and Trace’ Coronavirus transmission. Here is a bit more information so that you can protect yourself against scammers.

Engagement with NHS Test & Trace is really important to keep us all safe as we move into the next phase of eased lockdown. However we absolutely recognise concerns about the possibility for fraudulent impersonators.

How to know it is NHS

People will be alerted by the NHS Test and Trace service if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.

Contact tracers will:• call from 0300 013 5000 (however this can be spoofed so if you are suspicious, e.g. if

asked for bank details, don’t rely on it. However they will NOT call from any other number)

• send text messages from ‘NHS’(However this can be spoofed so if you are suspicious don’t rely on it, however they will NOT text from any other name)

• ask people to sign into the NHS test and trace contact-tracing website https://contact-tracing.phe.gov.uk (Always look for the secure HTTPS start to any official website)

• ask for full name and date of birth to confirm identity, and postcode to offer support while self-isolating

• ask about the coronavirus symptoms• ask people to provide the name, telephone number and/or email address of anyone

they have had close contact with in the two days prior to symptoms starting• ask if anyone they have been in contact with is under 18 or lives outside of England

They will not ask:• for bank details, or payments• for details of any other accounts, such as social media• set up a password or PIN number over the phone• to call a premium rate number, such as those starting 09 or 087• try and get you to download any software to your PC or ask you to hand over control

of your PC, smartphone or tablet• ask you to access any website other than https://contact-tracing.phe.gov.uk• ask any details about your bank account

Report fraud: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting-fraud-and-cyber-crime

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Bedford NewsStay at Home to Reduce High Infection

Rates in Bedford Borough

Bedford Borough has the highest rate of Coronavirus infection in the East of England and so, Bedford Borough Council is urging you to continue to stay at home as much as possible to slow the spread of the virus and save lives.

Despite the lockdown easing in England, the virus has not gone away. Different parts of the country have different infection rates and Bedford Borough is one of the highest. The Borough’s Department of Public Health are working to support the local rollout of test and trace (see page 5) and you are asked to continue the fight to slow the spread of the virus.

You can do this by continuing to stay at home as much as possible. If you do go out, try to limit contact with other people by keeping at least 2 metres apart from them. Wear a face covering, especially in shops and other closed places and, don’t forget, it’s obligatory to wear face masks on public transport. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, or use a hand sanitiser when that’s not available.

Town centre shops re-openLast Monday, 15 June, shops in Bedford town centre re-opened for business as Government guidelines started to further ease lockdown restrictions. Enticing as this might be, Bedford Borough Council as asking you to only make journeys to the shops if necessary.

To help minimise the spread of the virus in the town centre there has been increased cleaning with floor markers, signage and banners reminding you to socially distance. The shops themselves have also been busy introducing new routes through them and introducing distancing measures to keep people safe.

As reported last week, the High Street will be taken down to one lane of traffic to give wider walking areas, with more space for people to socially distance in our town centre, especially if you have to queue outside shops.

Both Mayor Dave Hodgson and Cllr Henry Vann (Portfolio Holder for Town Centres and Planning) have stressed the need to:

STAY SAFE STAY LOCAL STAY KIND

Passing the timeTheatre‘The Shows Must Go On’ YouTube channel is, this week, showing the musical Peter Pan.This was cancelled a couple of weeks ago but began streaming for 48 hours from 7pm on Friday just gone, so you’ll need to be quickif you want to watch it.

Alan Bennett’s ‘Talking Heads’ monologues will premiere on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer from 9pm on Tuesday 23 June with casts including Jodie Comer, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Tamsin Greig and Martin Freeman.

The Old Vic will stream the play Mood Music which follows a music producer embroiled in the battle for rights to a hit song. The production, featuring the original cast, will go live at 7pm BST on Wednesday 8 July and will be available to watch until Tuesday 14 July.

The National Theatre at Home has announced details of the final shows it will be streaming. Each production will be broadcast each Thursday at 7pm BST and is available for a week. On 18 June, the stage adaptation of Andrea Levy's Small Island will be presented, adapted by Helen Edmundson. It stars Leah Harvey, Gershwyn Eustace Jr and Aisling Loftus. This will be followed on 25 June by the Bridge Theatre's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, starring Hammed Animashaun, Oliver Chris, Gwendoline Christie and David Moorst. After these there will be two more productions – details later.

The Bristol Old Vic is streaming The Grinning Man musical from June 26. More info on https://bristololdvic.org.uk/at-home/bristol-arts-channel.

MusicAfter last week’s collection of Covid-19 based parodies, here’s firstly, not so much a parody but a flashmob singing Funiculi Funicula in Waitrose. You can find it at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=44UC6muN8KY.

For a couple more parodies check out the new version of the Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive at www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmUXntGlqFI and, if you’re a Neil Diamond fan, you can see the man himself doing a bit of a parody of Sweet Caroline on www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxnETrhOIAE. Good to see he can still sing the song well at aged 79.

If you’re wondering what coming back to church might be like after lockdown, Bethany Baptist Church in Wales on www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIfItkvCVfA have put together an ‘informative’ video.

Try some weight trainingYou don’t have to go out and buy a full set of weights to do some bicep curls like the picture shows. Just take a one-litre plastic bottle and mark it a quarter and a half full. Fill to the quarter mark and tighten the top. Use this to do ten bicep curls with each arm. Then, sitting or standing straight, lift the bottle out to the side till your arm’s horizontal. Do that ten times with each arm. Once this becomes easy, fill the bottle to the halfway mark and do it again. When this becomes easy full the bottle up and, eventually try it with a 2-litre bottle.

‘Lino’-printingDid you ever do lino printing at school or maybe at some evening class you went to long ago? Why not have another go? An easier version, instead of needing a really sharp knife to dig into a piece of lino – and who has spare lino hanging around these days? – is to use the polystyrene base you get with pizzas, or as inserts in packaging. Just cut out your pattern or picture, spread some thick paint on this and get printing.

Premier League re-startsFootball’s back – but not as we know it. No crowds, empty stadia, canned crowd noise – but at least you can watch some of it free!!Here’s a list of the first few free to air matches and what channels they are on. Sky Pick is Freeview channel 11. You don’t need a subscription to watch the matches on Amazon Prime.

Sunday June 21 2pm Newcastle v Sheffield United Sky PickSunday June 21 7pm Everton v Liverpool Sky PickWednesday June 24 6pm Manchester Utd v Sheffield Utd Sky PickWednesday June 24 6pm Norwich v Everton BBCThursday June 25 6pm Burnley v Watford Sky PickSunday June 28 4.30pm Watford v Southampton Sky PickMonday June 29 8pm Crystal Palace v Burnley AmazonTuesday June 30 8.15pm Brighton v Manchester United Sky PickWednesday July 1 6pm Bournemouth v Newcastle Sky Pick

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Your colourful photos

Here’s some ‘Colourful’ photos to continue with this month’s theme – a rainbow from Mike S, a cinnabarmoth from Peter B, flowers from Alison S and a couple from me! To start you thinking ahead the theme for July will be ‘Three’.

from Mike S from Peter B

from Alison S from Geoff

Another ‘Guess Who’ from Spirit

Here’s another photo taken during the performance of Spirit for you to test your memory on. This is the ‘Flogging’ scene and, apart from John I who is looking very nervous about the whole thing, all the apostles are face down. However, there are other faces at the top of the picture for you to work on. I think the two ladies sitting down are Joyce P and Jean B. Jean’s looking very worried – probably because her son, David, is facing a bit of a flogging. Then there’s the serious lot at the back who have ordered this beating and the young girls in the corner, who should probably have been in bed by now as this scene is surely after the

watershed.

Sunday Club UpdateSunday Club is continuing to meet each week on Zoom. We’ve been learning about the wonders of God’s creation in the past couple of weeks. Unfortunately, we’ve had a few technical problems and have found that the 40 minutes allocated time is not enough and the

session has ended abruptly. It doesn’t help when someone asks ‘So who created God?’ (answers anyone...?!). Despite this the kids seem to enjoy our time together and last week we were joined by Reuben N’s children, Andy and Sharon which was nice.

It’s a challenge to find activities which work despite being in separate homes but we hope to continue for the time being. So if anyone else wants to join in, please email me on stuart.simms@ntlworld.com for further details.

Rosemary S

A Rainbow Prayeradapted from the original by Peter Hemmings,

a Methodist Local Preacher in Oxfordshire

We remember with thanks the Fire and Rescue service: its bravery and dedication, saving lives and property. We pray for Postal Workers and others delivering parcels, news and goods. We give thanks for Blood Donors and the precious gift they give. We pray for the Red Cross, Red Crescent and similar organisations seeking to save lives and relieve suffering.

We give thanks for the people who produce and bring us food giving a balanced diet of vitamins and nourishment and pray that the world may find a way to feed the hungry and the dispossessed.

We remember Paramedics and the work of the Ambulance Service getting people to and from hospital. We give thanks for the warmth of the sun and people who bring sunshine into the lives of others. We pray that you will guide us to use the gold that we have wisely and for the benefit of others. Forgive our greed which shames us.

We thank you for the doctors and nurses helping patients at this difficult time. We thank you for the abundance of nature, and its variety. Teach us to respect the earth on which we live. Forgive us our extravagance in the way we use your gifts. Give to people everywhere a caring concern that the world may be a safe place to live. We pray for people who are consumed with envy, unable to rejoice in the good fortune of others.

We thank you for all who work in the NHS: the medical staff, technicians, pharmacists and all who help hospitals and surgeries function. We give thanks for the police and the armed forces. We pray for people who suffer from depression, frustrated that life can seem so hard, and for whom it is difficult to find joy.

Indigo is a mystery Colour – neither blue nor violet.We pray for people who are unsure of their role in life pulled in opposite directions. We pray for people who face an uncertain future.

We pray for those called to be leaders of nations, their servants and their ministers. We pray that the world may be governed with wisdom and in a way that is fair to all. We pray for people whose nature is to be shy, quiet and uncomplaining. We pray for all who mourn. Be with them in their loss. Help them to rejoice in the story of a life. We pray for people who have gone before us, and know that one day we shall meet again.

We thank God for all the experiences of life. Bless us all and those for whom we have prayed. We ask this in the name of your son Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. Amen.

Supporting someone with dementia

Last Sunday was MHA (Methodist Homes) Sunday and they sent me suggestions of ways to support someone who is living with dementia at this time.

This is a summary of their top ten tips:

1. Bring the outdoors in. Arranging flowers and potting seeds can both be done from the comfort of a chair and helps those with ‘green fingers’ to continue their hobby.

2. Use the power of music. Create playlists with songs from different decades. Print out some lyrics and have a sing-song to lift spirits and boost morale.

3. Welcome distractions. Involve the person living with dementia in easy to do tasks to create a feeling of purpose and to give them a feeling of independence.

4. Keep the mind active. Reading and puzzles help in this. Active Minds and Alzheimer’s Society provide ready to go dementia friendly puzzles and books.

5. Go virtual. Use the internet to travel to virtual places. The TATE and National Galleries have virtual tours. YouTube allows you to revisit places of past holidays.

6. Stay connected. Reach out to family members and friends using apps such as Skype, Zoom and Face Time.

7. Awaken the senses – particularly scent. Using lemons, mint, candles, shoe polish and so on can all take people back to their childhood allowing reminiscing.

8. Use signage. Put up signs around the home to give occasional reminders to, for example, ‘wash your hands’.

9. Keep active. Don’t underestimate the power of movement. British Gymnastics have ‘Love to Move’. Ageless Grace and Joe Wicks both have ‘chair exercises’.

10. Get fresh air. It’s important to get as much as you can. Get out into the garden or stand on the front porch, or just open a window. A bit of sunshine also provides some much-needed Vitamin D.

Our Church Family

Your

Prayers

Please remember in your prayers:• Julie and Alan C (as Alan comes home)• Ruth C (in hospital after a fall)• David F• All our friends in care homes, especially

in Anjulita Court, Manton Heights, Parkside and Dame Alice Court, and at Ladyslaude Court

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Church Council to meet by Zoom…

A reminder that Kempston East Church Council is due to meet on Tuesday June

23rd at 7.00pm. This meeting will still go ahead but will be through the medium of Zoom video conferencing. If you would like a login code and password, please

contact richard.ward4@btinternet.com.

Donation to Kempston East in memory of Roger Constant

A total of £61.04 was donated to Kempston East in memory of Roger Constant. This is in addition to the

donations given to Diabetes UK.

Thank you to all who remembered Roger in this way.

Do not fear to bring your pain to God.Do not fear to bring your doubts.Do not fear to bring your lack of confidence.Do not fear to bring your worst, as well as your best.Do not fear to bring your memories and your dreams,your hopes and your anguish.God knows you and loves you.God will never give up on you.Thank you, God. Amen.

Worship

During this time when all of our churches are closed for worship you have an increasing number of options for alternative worship. Some of these involve accessing the internet, particularly YouTube. Not all, though. BBC1 is broadcasting a half-hour service each Sunday morning.

The Father’s Day service this Sunday again comes from Holy Trinity Platt Church in Manchester and is led by led by the Rector, Rev Dr Paul Mathole. In keeping with never having this at the same time each week, the BBC have shifted it this week to 11.45am. This is because, at 10.45am, a new series of Sunday Morning Live begins in which Sean Fletcher and Sally Phillips take a look at the week's talking points and explore the ethical and religious issues of the day.

Sean Fletcher is back at 1.15pm to present Songs of Praise, in which he looks back on stories of inspiring dads putting Christian love into action, including a father’s gift to save his son’s life.

As well as television, BBC Radio are also broadcasting various services on Sunday.At 8.10am on Radio 4 the service will explore fatherhood and God as Father, with Ben Lindsay, Guvna B and Lord Hastings. Radio 3 has Choral Evensong at 3pm today (Sunday) from the Chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge and at 3.30pm on Wednesday from Manchester Cathedral.

On Youtube you have the choice of a number of live streamed services. Wesley’s Chapel, London www.youtube.com/channel/UCUAUqhmhevz5sqhh72LIMxAmorning worship at 11am. Methodist Central Hall, London is also live streaming morning worship at 11am on www.youtube.com/mchwevents and Swan Bank Methodist Church in Burslem (at www.youtube.com/user/SwanBank) are live streaming morning worship at 10.30am.

And, of course, most importantly, don’t forget that, on our own church website (www.kempstoneastmethodist.org) each Sunday, there is a message appropriate to that week. This Sunday Rev Peter Byass will be delivering the message. Both the worship on the next few pages (for you to follow at home) and our online message are based on the third chapter of Ruth, as part of our joining with other Methodist churches in Bible Month. I though an appropriate anthem for this week would be ‘There Will Be Peace in the Valley’.

While we are following Bible Month, many other churches around the country are still following the lectionary. Roots Postscript is based on this and, this week, is particularlychallenging and hard-hitting, linking the lectionary with the news. Those of you who receive this newsletter electronically will also receive a copy of that. I urge you to read it.

worship

at home

Sunday

JUNE 21,

2020

This short act of worship has been prepared for you to use if you are unable to attend church. If you are well enough, why not spend a few moments with God,

knowing that other people are sharing this act of worship with you.

Opening PrayerYou may like to be still, light a candle, listen to a calming piece of music as we gather in worship.

‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.’ (Lamentations 3:22-23)Holy God, as we come to worship you, help us to remember that, though apart, we belong to your church, your people, your world, we are not alone. Draw us together by your Spirit as we worship. Amen.

Hymn: Christ whose glory fills the skies (StF 134)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FpmaYlluuA

Christ, whose glory fills the skies,Christ, the true, the only Light,Sun of Righteousness, arise,triumph o’er the shades of night;Day-spring from on high, be near;Day-star, in my heart appear.

Visit then this soul of mine;pierce the gloom of sin and grief;fill me, radiancy divine;scatter all my unbelief;more and more thyself display,shining to the perfect day.

Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

Dark and cheerless is the mornUnaccompanied by thee;joyless is the day’s return,till thy mercy’s beams I see,till they inward light impart,glad my eyes, and warm my heart.

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Let us pray together:

Holy God, Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, life and love and hope. In the creative cover of darkness, you formed your creation until the time when your light burst forth, illuminating the beauty, vibrancy and wonder of all that you have made. May we your beloved people encounter you, in the spectacular and in the mundane. Ever-creating God, meet afresh with us as we come to worship.

God of transformation, in love you sent your Son to live among your people, to enter the frailty of human flesh. Befriending the ‘wrong’ sort of people, Jesus, powerfully proclaimed your message. Jesus demonstrated the depth and breadth of your great love, love too strong to be bound and held by death, love that burst forth from a tomb with the rising sun.

Holy Spirit of God, love and laughter, creativity, dance and song, you call us continually into relationship with you and one another. In this time of challenge, of fear and uncertainty, encourage us to look for signs of you at work all around us. Holy God, we come also to ask your forgiveness…

(Time of quiet prayer)

Our liberating God of love, hope and peace calls us afresh to serve in the work of the kingdom, forgives us in Christ, renews, inspires and enables us through the Holy Spirit. We are forgiven people. Amen

Anthem: There will be peace in the valleywww.youtube.com/watch?v=9GKdVBub90E

Today’s Reading from the Old Testament: Ruth 3

Time to Reflect

At the beginning of Chapter 3, Naomi wishes to seek out some security for Ruth’s future life, ‘so that it may be well with you.’ What might seeking security look like for us in this season? Where is our security?

Throughout the text, Ruth is consistently identified as ‘other’, an outsider, Ruth the Moabite. She is asked ‘who are you?’ by Boaz. In these challenging days this can be an insightful question for us to ponder – who am I? How do I define my identity? Do we frame our identity by where we come from, who our family are, our work, our roles in life, our faith? ‘O Lord, you have searched me and known me’, writes the Psalmist in Psalm 139. Perhaps we might reflect on the question: who am I in the eyes of our loving and faithful God?

Another feature of this multi-layered and nuanced text is the call to resist. Ruth faces discrimination and she is required to seek security as a widow. Perhaps, this text calls us as people of faith to stand boldly in courage and to continue to resist dominance, discrimination and the labelling of any as ‘other’. How might we in this time of global pandemic continue to stand up for inclusion, justice and peace for all?

Take a time to sit quietly

A time of prayerGod of hope, embracing us, surprising us,loving us, be near.

Creative God, as we adapt to a new way of being; distracting and busying ourselves;may we also seek to be present to youand each other in this season of lockdown.Help us to know the presence of the risen onein our being and in our doing.

God of creation, as we bear witness to the springing up of Spring in the beauty of your creation, may we rejoice in cleaner air, and wonder at the blossoming of life amidst such horror, longing for a new way of hope for our world.

Living God, we can feel claustrophobic,crowded or desperately lonely, our horizons of hope diminished. Lead us to restorative places, our still waters, remind us that we are not alone, call us to solidarity, to love our neighbours, to reach out. Draw us close by your hope-filled Spirit.

God of all comfort, when we are fearful, anxious or overwhelmed, may we hear you whisper our names lovingly, ‘beloved child, do not be afraid.’

Tender God, when we are overwhelmed by grief and despair, you weep with us, embracing those who are sick, holding the dying when we cannot, present in a hand held, a smile, a word of comfort, love personified in doctor, nurse or care worker, embrace us in our grief. We pray for all those that are ill at this time, for those who care for them and for those who have lost loved ones…

God in the darkness, hold us when everything feels too much, when all we can do is get out of bed, when nothing gets done, when lockdown seems about competitive ‘doing’ and we haven’t the energy to be productive, help us to listen to ourselves, to love ourselves as you love us, to remember that you do not measure our worth by our activity, you simply love and love beyond all measure, hold us in our struggles.

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Resurrecting God, when we long for a return to how things used to be, open our eyes to the new thing that you are doing. By your Spirit labouring within us, may we discern new opportunities, yet also rest in the stillness. God of hope undiminished and new horizons, in this season you hold us through pain, anxiety and doubt, through loss and longing, through unexpected and unbridled joy, keep us enfolded in your loving embrace.

God of hope, embracing us, surprising us,loving us, be near. Amen

The Lord’s PrayerOur Father ……

Hymn: ‘O God you search me and you know me’ (StF 728) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q0QCl60NNo

A prayer of blessingMay the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

Original Materials by Rev Miriam MoulAll Hymns reproduced CCLi 1144191 and CCLi 5467

O God, you search me and you know me.All my thoughts lie open to your gaze.When I walk or lie down you are before me:ever the maker and keeper of my days.

You know my resting and my rising.You discern my purpose from afar,and with love everlasting you besiege me:in every moment of life or death, you are.

Before a word is on my tongue, Lord,you have known its meaning through and through.You are with me beyond my understanding:God of my present, my past and future, too.

Although your Spirit is upon me,still I search for shelter from your light.There is nowhere on earth I can escape you:even the darkness is radiant in your sight.

For you created me and shaped me,gave me life within my mother's womb.For the wonder of who I am, I praise you:safe in your hands, all creation is made new.

Bernadette Farrell (b. 1957)based on psalm 139

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The Methodist Church has a section on its website called ‘Special Sundays’. Mothering Sunday is on there but Father’s Day is conspicuous by its absence. Why is that? It’s a rhetorical question and one I don’t know the answer to. It also seems to only be a British thing. The Methodist Church in North America does celebrate Father’s Day – and so should we!!

We should celebrate it because it’s right to honour our fathers – it says so in the Ten Commandments. We should also celebrate it because it began with a Methodist lady in the USA. The lady was Sonora Smart Dodd and she lived in the town of Spokane in the state of Washington. This isn’t Washington DC where the President lives but Washington right over in the north-west corner of the USA.

In 1898, when Sonora was 16, her mother died in childbirth with her sixth child. From that point her father raised all six children on his own. In 1909, Sonora attended a Mother’s Day service at the Central Methodist Episcopal Church in Spokane and realised that while mothers were quite rightly being honoured, there was no way to honour the contribution of fathers with a special day.

She went to the leaders of the church with her idea and they agreed with her. Her original suggestion was to have Father’s Day on June 5, which was her own father’s birthday but the church leaders chose the third Sunday in June instead. And so, on June 19, 1910, the first Father’s Day was celebrated in Spokane.

The news of this spread across the country and soon Father’s Day was being celebrated quite widely. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson sent a telegraph to Spokane praising the initiative. It took another 50 years, though, for further Presidential intervention when, in 1966, President Lyndon B Johnson signed a presidential declaration that the third Sunday in June should be Father’s Day. A permanent national observ-ance of Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June was fully established six years later in 1972 by President Nixon.

Sonora Dodd died, aged 96, in 1978 and is buried in her home town of Spokane.

So, come on, Methodist Church in Britain – follow your American counterparts and make Father’s Day one of the Special Sundays of the year.

If you have any prayer requests, thanks, how you’re passing the time, feelgood items and, indeed, any other items and news that you would like to go into this newsletter then please email these to geofftal@btinternet.com, ideally by Thursday each week. As you can see, unlike the printed newsletter, there’s no restriction on space and we can even slot last minute things in up till Friday evening.

If you know of someone who would like to receive this emailed newsletter could you please send their email address to richard.ward4@btinternet.com. Equally, if you would like to be removed from the distribution list, please let Richard Ward know.

This is the latest of Richard’s super posters with the bust of Archbishop

Trevor Huddlestone as the main figure. Do stop and have a look if you’re passing the church – and

look out for more of these.

Thought for the Week:

The hardest thing in life to learn is which bridge to cross and which

to burn.

David Russell

Mapping the Meridian Line

This sculpture is in Louth in Lincoln-shire. I’m sure we all know that the Greenwich Meridian is the prime meridian or line of longitude on earth linking towns and cities along the 0° line.Photo © Jo Turner (cc-by-sa/2.0)

As well as passing through the UK (and Greenwich in particular), the line also passes through Spain, Algeria, Mali and Ghana. However, the northernmost town in the world that the Meridian passes through is Louth.

Now that’s something to remember for a pub (or any other kind of) quiz sometime.