As another Autumn gets underway....

It’s September already, and the nights are fast drawing in. 2009 is speeding by – and soon retailers will begin their annoying Christmas countdown (“September 16 – only 100 shopping days left!”)

September heralds the return to the ‘rat-race’. Many of us expect work to be very busy over the coming months. Some of us dread even returning to work. Others of us struggle to cope with on-going family problems, or with mounting debt. Whatever lies ahead of you this autumn, here is what the Bible says about trusting in God:

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shall you dwell in the land, and you shall be fed. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.” Psalm 37: 3–5

“The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe.” Proverbs 29.25

Late September begins Harvest-time –

a time for gratitude and giving

The limit of giving is to be the limit of our ability to give. C S Lewis

Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.

As the purse is emptied, the heart is filled. Victor Hugo

The soul is a never-ending sigh after God. Theodore Christlieb

When praying, don't give God instructions - just report for duty.

Craft Class

We are looking forward to our new season commencing on 10 September. Classes will continue every Thursday morning between 10.00 a.m. and 12 noon.

Guest Speaker

We are having a special speaker from the Faith Missionon 24 September. She is Mrs. Sylvia Matthews and she will be bringing along some of her beautiful quilts and other examples of her sewing. Sylvia will also be telling the story of her family and her life to date. Anyone who may be interested is very welcome to join us in this morning of friendship.

Card Making

 Also, in the month of October, classes are being held for Card Making by a tutor from ‘Atlas’. Anyone who would be interested in these classes please contact me so as we can make arrangements to have enough kits ready.

Again we thank the Community Foundation for N.I., “Turkington Fund”, for their recognition of our Group in awarding us a Grant to enable is to have these special events.

Valerie Turkington

CHOIR

Choir practices resume on Friday 11 th September in Church at 7.30 pm. If you like to sing, come along- you will be made very welcome. We will be rehearsing Harvest Music as well as the usual music we sing every Sunday.

PRAISE GROUP

New members are needed for the Praise Group. If you like the more modern type of church music, can sing or play an instrument (any) you will be most welcome. We will be practising once a month, and the first practice is on

Thursday 10 th September at

12 Knocknarea Road

from 8.00 pm -10.00 pm

Margaret

Assisted Suicide

Religious Leaders express their views

What do you think about the proposal to change the law so that, in certain circumstances, assisted suicide may be permitted?

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and Vincent Nichols, the [Catholic] Archbishop of Westminster, joined with the Chief Rabbi, Sir Jonathan Sacks, to send a letter to the Daily Telegraph on the subject.

Referring to the proposed amendment to the Coroners and Justice Bill, the three leaders assert that “it would surely put vulnerable people at serious risk, especially sick people who are anxious about the burden their illness may be placing on others.”

The Church of England has created a new section on its web site about this topic, listing their views and providing a PowerPoint file of key points for use in churches. Suffering, the Church maintains, must be met with compassion, commitment to high-quality services and effective medication. Meeting suffering by assisted suicide is merely removing it in the crudest way possible, says the statement.

The Bishop of Winchester, Rt Revd Michael Scott-Joynt, welcoming the web site statement, said: “Parliament has a particular duty to care for the very many who in illness, pain, fear and loss of their faculties, may be more vulnerable than the resolute and articulate few, to the influence and

persuasion of others, or indeed to the persuasion of their own care and anxiety for their families.” It is necessary to speak out, said the bishop, as distinguished voices are suggesting that dependent sufferers are wasting the lives of those who care for them and have a duty to die to stop being a burden on others. “No wonder that most disabled people, and their organisations, are passionately opposed to changes in the law.”

“Parliament has a duty to defend the integrity of the medical and nursing professions,” he added. “The most vulnerable need to be able to trust those professionally engaged in their care.” Critics of the proposed change also point out that people who are used to choosing the direction of their own

lives in every respect may not see the so-called right to end their life as a problem – but it can look more like a threat than a promise to people who are more used to having their lives shaped for them.

(Article has been abbreviated)

Prayers

P Is for the prayers we offer up to God on high.

R Is to remind us that He is ever nigh.

A Is for His answer which He gives in His own time.

Y Is for the yield He gives to bless your heart and mine.

E Is for the earnestness with which we intercede.

R is for God’s readiness to meet our every need.

Finding hope when struggling with debt

By Dr Anne Richards, Mission Theological Adviser

There is more to life than money

Everyone needs money for life’s essentials, but it is important not to make earning money our number one priority. Focusing on what is really important in life helps us keep money worries under control.

Matthew 6:25-33

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you - you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Do not live in the short term

It can be hard to see beyond the here and now. In reality, there is more to life than the current financial downturn. If we can view the bigger picture, there is more to look forward to, and feel positive about.  

Romans 5:1-5

"Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us."

CMS IRELAND

Bitter Sweet - Sat, 21 Mar 2009

Many people dream of being able to escape from their day to day life, to enjoy ‘time out’ and leave it all behind, for most people it will never happen, therefore the fantasy seems that more appealing. To us leaving Uganda for 5 months seemed a little daunting.

We arrived back in Ireland at the end of February for our ‘time out’. While we recognise the need for rest and refreshment, it is difficult to walk away from fulfilling jobs, friendships and of course a warmer climate!!

The transition period is always a little strange, like your eyes getting accustomed to the light after being in a dark room. In comparison to Uganda, despite the recessional climate, there appears to be no want for luxuries, never mind basic necessities. I found myself looking at places and things with an expression of childlike wonder and in some cases amusement, like seeing a Jack Russell with a coat on him! In Uganda dogs are not considered a domestic pet and are usually not given any positive attention.

The great part of being back in Ireland is catching up with friends and family, knowing that we don’t have to squeeze everyone into a two week visit. One such occasion was on the 7th March, when we were able to celebrate our recent

marriage with our family and friends in St Columbanus’ Halls. For those of you who know Rory you can imagine that it wasn’t like any other wedding celebration you would have been to. For example we had a tug of war for openers – sadly the ladies lost, but we did put up a decent fight! One of the highlights of the evening was the attendance of Rory’s, 96 year old Granny Flo, who doesn’t go out much anymore. Granny is amazing – full of fun and wisdom.

Our diary for the next few months is filling up with visits to churches and support groups for Kiwoko. It is a real privilege to travel around and represent the good people that we have left behind there. We hope to attend some training course to continue our professional development and then spend some time at a retreat just before heading back at the end of July.

Roll on the next few months meeting and greeting people, making new friends, enjoying rest, family and fun. Oh yes -keep the fresh cream and lemon meringue coming!!

Denise

Prayer:

a beginner’s guide

The good thing about prayer is that there’s only one way to go wrong, and that’s not to do it. The best way to do it is to just get on and do it. If prayer at its simplest

level is listening to God and talking to him, you don’t need long books to tell you how to do it, you just need a conviction that prayer is a good thing to do, that you’re someone God wants to hear from and that he’s worth talking to.

Is prayer a good thing to do? Never mind for the moment about whether prayer ‘works’ or not: Jesus prayed and he encouraged his disciples to pray too, so if we’re following him, we need to be praying. Full stop.

Are you someone God wants to hear from? The message of the Bible is that however unworthy, sinful and useless we may feel as human beings, God can’t wait to hear from us and is sitting on the edge of his seat like a love struck teenager, hand poised ready to pick up the phone the second it rings.

Is he worth talking to? He’s the one person who knows us inside out, the one person with infinite power at his fingertips, the one who has the true perspective on an

the hope of one day getting ‘an answer to prayer’, but a person. Who likes us.

How might you begin to pray? What sort of a person are you? Do you like a good gossip? Then gossip to God. Are you the strong silent type? Then be silent in his presence. Say hello... say the Lord’s Prayer ... say ‘Oh God’ and mean it... deliberately be silent and still for one minute ... read a story from a Gospel and imagine what you would say to Jesus if you were there... tell him about what is worrying you or thrilling you ... copy the great prayers of the Bible and of the Church... write a letter to him ... listen and look for a few moments in a place you consider holy... You can’t go wrong. Prayer is good. God longs to hear from you.

He’s worth it.

Parish Car Boot Sale

Our final Car Boot Sale this year is on Saturday, 26 September, 2009 starting at 10.00 a.m. It will not include the Mini Auction as we had in previous years. The Parish Table would appreciate your donations and these donations can be left at the hall on Friday night, the 25 September from 6.30 a.m. until 8 p.m. The Big Breakfast as well as teas, coffees, scones and tray bakes will be served in the hall. Do come along and enjoy the event and if you can help in any way please contact either Yvonne Belshaw 9360 2501 or Elizabeth Park 028 9261 1855.

Elizabeth

How God speaks  

God can speak to anyone

God does not restrict his voice to spiritual giants like Billy Graham or Mother Theresa. God can speak to anyone, but he will do so according to his way and timing, as we cannot demand it. Even Mother Theresa admitted that there were long periods of her life when God was not obviously speaking to her!

God’s voice can be recognised: People often ask, ‘how can I know if it is God speaking and not my imagination?’ God will always speak in a way that is consistent with the following characteristics:  

His character : is what he says in agreement with God’s character? (eg. he will not promote fear or anxiety)

Scripture : is it in line with what the Bible says? (eg God would not encourage adultery)

Who God made me to be : is it consistent with my gifts and personality?

Love : does it encourage loving not selfish action?

Creating space and silence is important for all of us if we are to hear God speaking to us.