CHURCH NEWS - SEPTEMBER 2000
ODELL PARISH MAGAZINE - September 2000
- CHURCH NEWS
From the Rectory
September 2000
Dear Friends,
We are continuing to look at the questions raised by the BBC in the Today programme at the end of last year. There have been a number of very interesting questions raised and which are quite profound. Not least, the present enquiry that asks, ‘Do you believe that there is a tangible place that we would know as heaven?’ The word to note in the question is tangible. In other words, if there is a heaven is it just a state of being, or does it have real substance?
There is hardly any other subject of religious thought that interests mankind as much as that of the future life. While some may scoff and scorn such belief, the majority of reasonable people, whether sophisticated or simple, long to know that there is a future life and wish for both themselves and their loved ones to enter into it. There is a longing for immortality in the heart of every person.
We need to return to the Scriptures for the fullest account of heaven. The word is used in various ways. Sometimes it speaks of the atmosphere. At other times it means the region of the stars. It can mean a spiritual state here and now but the real question that is being asked is-is there a tangible place where God dwells? To answer the question we need to look at Christ Jesus’ teaching as well as his person.
As the eternal Son of God, he came from heaven. Heaven was his home from all eternity. He spoke to his disciples of heaven because he knew it by experience. After his death on the cross-and his resurrection on the third day, Christ appeared to his disciples before ascending back to heaven. It must be remembered that he died bodily, rose again bodily and ascended bodily to heaven where he is seated at the right hand of the Father. Christ’s two natures, one divine, the other human are eternally united. He will return bodily to judge the living and the dead.
Of course, human beings do not normally ascend into heaven bodily. (There are the exceptions of Enoch, Elijah and Christians at the end of the age). The body is left behind and the soul goes to be with Christ. However, that is not the end. The soul waits in what is known as the intermediate state which is that period of time between the death and the resurrection of the body. It is a conscious existence, described by St Paul as being ‘far better’ and which Christ declares as being a place he is going to prepare for his followers.
Nor is that the final word. Heaven is a tangible place now, having real substance for that is where the resurrected Christ is. The Scriptures also teach that there is to be a new heaven and a new earth characterised no longer by sin, suffering and death but by righteousness in the presence of Almighty God. The key to heaven for us is the risen Christ and his righteousness. We shall follow this through in the next magazines when we will be looking at the question is there free will in heaven and then is there a Purgatory?
Sincerely in Christ, David Streater
Fete Committee
Doreen Wheeler and Helen Chapman, who have been stalwarts of the Fete Committee for well over ten years, have decided that the time has come to take a rest from organising the event, although both expect to continue to be actively involved on the day. A number of other Committee members are also standing down and we owe them all a great debt of gratitude for the work they have done. Now we are
looking for new enthusiastic volunteers to join the Committee and help organise next year's event.Odell Fete has its own special atmosphere and attracts many visitors. Come and join the organising team! If you would like to know more about what is involved, please contact David Streater on 01234 720234, or call in at the Rectory.
Church and Churchyard
Odell’s most significant landmark is without a doubt the Parish Church. It draws visitors from many countries for a variety of reasons. Some come because their families originated from the village. Many of those come from the Alston, Bulkeley and Odell families. Others arrive because the Parish Church is a very good example of a late Mediaeval Church which is relatively unspoiled.
Whatever the reason the Church stands with its eighty-foot tower as a landmark over the Great Ouse Valley which is a wonderfully scenic area with the village nestling below it. Surrounding the Church is the Churchyard where the residents of Odell have buried their dead, probably from the thirteenth century and possibly earlier.
Mediaeval Churches and Churchyards are not cheap to maintain and the Parochial Church Council has agreed to apply for a faculty so that maintenance work can be undertaken on the building. At the same time, although there is quite a lot of room in the Churchyard, work is going to have to be undertaken to clear the scrub that has grown up to make space for future burials.
I should like to say thank you to so many for helping us maintain the Church and the Churchyard and I should be very happy to answer any questions about the maintenance work on the Church or the clearance of the overgrown part of the Churchyard.
David Streater
Congratulations!
Congratulations to Steven Kaudeur and Clare Pittman on their wedding in the Parish Church on Saturday August 5th
and also to Kate Halton and Sian Wherrett who gained Upper Second Class Honours Degrees from Oxford and Cardiff respectively!
In Memory of Phyllis May Dowdeswell aged 88.
The funeral service was held in the Parish Church on Thursday August 17th followed by interment in the Churchyard.
The Prayer Chain
The Prayer Chain is there if you need prayer for yourself, for others or for members of your family. Please don’t ask for prayer outside your own family without people’s permission. To have a number of people pray just telephone David (720234) or Dennis (822992).
Harvest Festival, All Saints Church, Odell
Decorating the Church for Harvest:
The work of decorating the church for the Harvest Festival will begin at 10am Saturday 23rd September. There is a lot to do, so please help!
Harvest Thanksgiving Service
This wonderful occasion of thanksgiving to God for His many gifts to us will be celebrated on September 24th:
10.00am Harvest Festival Service for all the family.
Harvest Supper
The Harvest Supper will take place in the Village Hall on Saturday, September 30th at 7.00 for 7.30pm. Ticket Prices: £3.50 adults, £2.00 concessions.
The supper will be followed by a talk, with slides, by some members of the congregation on their recent trip to the Holy Land.
Don’t miss this very welcoming village event!
Tickets will be available in September from Churchwardens and PCC members.
Meeting Point
September
Meeting Point will resume in September after the summer break. The date of the first meeting is:
Wednesday 13th September at 10.30am, to be held at Jill Cheadle‘s, Rectory farm, Odell.
Our Giving in September is to St. Luke’s Hospital.
St. Luke’s was originally a hospital dedicated to serving the clergy and their families, but has now expanded and welcomes anybody who wishes to join their medical scheme. However, their first priority is still with the clergy so that they can be treated and return to work in their parishes as quickly as possible. For more information you can write to: St. Luke’s Hospital, 14 Fitzroy Square, London W1P 6AH.
Do please give generously in our collection or in the plate at the back of the church.
Aid For Romania
First of all, thank you everyone who supported Tim in the Pit Run. We raised £300+ in sponsorship, and won the Rose Bowl for the highest sum.
Incidentally Bethan Lee also did well, winning her class.
We now have arranged for our secretary in Romania to have e-mail so at least once a month we receive all the news, plus financial details and the minutes of the meetings of the committee out there - all in French. This means we now have almost too much information and certainly many more little or large queries to be answered, so it keeps us and our dictionary busy!
As some of you already know, we decided to use more than £1,000 of tax rebate to give all our 26 Sponsored Families a special millennium/jubilee gift to help with their ever-increasing expenses, and problems. Those four with the worst debts received about £150 each, but this involved an agreement that we would, in future, put their sponsorship to pay their bills so they don't get into such debt again. These gifts have been a great help but unfortunately the situation with rents and household bills is getting a lot worse and at least seven of our families have basic bills which are 50% higher than the £20 we used to give them in food. Already eight of the families receive, from central funds, an extra £7 a month towards these bills, so for some their bills are now higher than the total money they get from us. More families are choosing to use this money to pay their rents and bills for electricity, water etc. instead of food. Very sad, but we must help them keep a roof over their heads. Rent charges are based on the number of people living in a flat, which means that, if they can, most families send their children to grandparents in the country during the school holidays. Incidentally many of these children do get free lunches and bread from the council canteen, so they won't starve. In a few of our families we do know that they may try harder to find any work they can if they are short of food, rather than waiting for us to provide it.
Additionally, we continue to pay for necessary medication and extra vitamins or supplements, in recent months, in eleven of our families. Our dental programme continues with free toothpaste. Unfortunately at least seven members of our families have recently been in hospital. Also we hear that our friend, Sorin, has made pyjamas for some of our children with fabric we sent out last Christmas.
Recent good news is that many of our children have done very well in the end-of-year exams and very few have failed. Two have passed their 'Bac' (A level) well with 71.5% & 77.5%; two have passed their 8th grade exams well enough to go on to a lycee (85.1% & 70%) while another will go to college to study car mechanics. Of the younger children, 21 were 1st, 2nd or received a special mention after the end-of-year exams. In July, 19 of those who had good school results, went to the camp in the hills organised by the Orthodox Church, and it is hoped some more will go in August.
Tim and I are planning to visit Romania in October when we will visit all the families, hearing their news and updating all our records. Then, during November, we again plan to sort and pack clothes to be sent from here probably before the end of that month. This may well be the last year we send clothes, so please try to help by sorting out warm garments in good condition, especially those suitable for children and young people. These boxes cost about 50p per kilogram to send so we will be very glad of any special donations to help with this expense. Please also make a note if there's any chance you could give me a few hours of your time to help with the sorting and packing - a very long and complicated job, but much appreciated when the boxes arrive full of garments chosen specially for each member of the family, even the grannies.
Thank you for your continuing support. I hope you can see how worth while it all is.
Liz Dodwell
The Jubilee Sailing Trust
This charity has as its aim the formidable challenge of strengthening integration between physically disabled and able-bodied people through the medium of tall ship sailing. Established in 1978 the trust now owns two square-rigged ships designed and built to enable men and women of all physical abilities to share the challenge of crewing a tall ship at sea.
The Lord Nelson has been doing just that for years and now the Tenacious should be ready for her maiden voyage. She is a 65 metre three-masted barque, built of wood in such a way that hundreds of volunteers of all abilities have been able to help. Three years ago we held a Charity Supper in Harrold to raise money towards fitting out the chart room. On October 14th there will be a similar event to raise money for the new ship. Please help this worthwhile cause if you can.
Jubilee Sailing Trust
Tim and Liz Dodwell invite you to a
CHARITY SUPPER
at Watermead, 41 Odell Road, Harrold
from 7.30pm on Saturday October 14th
Tickets minimum price £15, or £25 for two
All profits to the Jubilee Sailing Trust.
Please book now (720640) as numbers will be limited
Donations of food, cash and raffle prizes will be much appreciated.
Missionary News
We enjoyed meeting Caroline and Dick Seed in the summer and wish them a safe and successful time in Nigeria where Dick will be lecturing and Caroline teaching English at the University of Wuasa for 4 years.
Looking to Jesus with Anne Turner:
Our passport to Heaven
Pull up a chair
"He is close to all who call on Him sincerely".Psalms 145:18
The old man was very ill, so his family called the pastor. When he came in, he noticed an empty chair near the bed and said, "I see I'm not your first visitor today." The old man looked puzzled. Then he realised that the pastor had noticed the chair by his bed. " Let me tell you about that chair," he said. "Years ago I found it difficult to pray. A friend told me not to worry about it. He said, 'Just sit down, put a chair in front of you, imagine Jesus sitting on it and begin to talk with Him as you would to a friend.' Then he added with a smile, "I've been doing that for the last 50 years and it's been wonderful, it really works."
Later, when the old man went home to be with the Lord, his daughter called the pastor again. She said, "When I left him this morning, he was sleeping comfortably. But when I came back he was gone. Then I noticed something, his hand was on the empty chair beside the bed. Isn't that strange?" "No" the pastor replied. "The One in the chair just took him by the hand and they left together."
If it helps, pull up a chair today and spend some time talking to the Lord. Come to Him confidently, for He couldn't love you more than He does at this moment - and that will never change. Listen "Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it" (Heb4:15NLT)
If you would like to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ today, you can pray this prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, I know you died on the cross for my sins and I want you to be Lord of my life: now and forever in heaven. I'm sorry for the ways I've sinned against you and for my selfish way of living. Please forgive me. Please Lord, come into my life now as my saviour. Wash me clean, fill me with your Spirit; and with your help, I will learn to love and obey you as the Lord of my life. Thank you for forgiving me and bringing me back to God. Amen.
Printed with kind permission of United Christian Broadcaster from the daily readings "Our Daily Bread".
Amongst Ourselves
Congratulations to Clare and Steve Kaudeur on their recent wedding at All Saints. The couple now live at Duston, Northampton, but many
will remember Clare (nee Pittman) who previously lived in the bungalow where the Coffey family now live. Our love and prayers for lots of happiness are sent to them in their future life together.On August 11th dear Phyl Dowedswell was called to be with The Lord. Many friends gathered to give thanks for this talented lady originally from Truro, Cornwall. Phyl was a very gifted person, very artistic and very modest about her gifts and teachings. Very quiet and loving, the way she also lived her life. Included in the funeral service were two of Phyl’s favourite readings from the Bible, these she loved to hear in her days of illness. We listened attentively to "The 23rd Psalm", 'The Good Shepherd', and also to Revelations Chapter 21 v1-8, speaking of the new heaven, where all tears shall be wiped away, no more pain, no crying and where God will be amongst those there - a beautiful glorious sight. We believe that Phyl is amongst the blessed. Our love and prayers are with Frank, Jim and the family.
There are many sick in our midst who need our prayers. Particularly we think of John Hancock, Tim Asbery, Mark Asbery, and Daphne Eaton from Tannery lane, all having recently been in hospital. Unwell at home are Ernie Surridge, Lin Samuels, Phyllis Ames and Hilda Wright waiting to go into hospital for surgery. Further afield in Nursing Homes are Gladys Gadsby, Marjorie Owen and Marion Smith.
We pray: Father God, you know all things from the beginning to the end and we ask you to be with all the sick and suffering, the elderly, the lonely and the broken hearted. We pray for healing, for protection, for your comfort and for your peace. May these dear people, and those we have not named, know that you are there in the storms of life - right by their side, Amen.
Coincidence
Back in June I was in the Remembrance Garden attending the shrubs with my fork, birds and rain for company when I espied a small forget-me-not plant, looking a bit jaded in the heat of the day. Nothing significant in that , you may say, but read on. That very same day I was reading the "Why Is It" column, edited by Jocelyn Sizer, in "The Daily Express". The question asked by a couple from Lincolnshire was: "Why are forget-me-nots so called?"
Jocelyn Sizer answered with a verse from a family in Houston, Texas, which had been sent to their friend Linda Sloan in Co. Londonderry:
Acorn Christian Library
How about visiting the Emmaus Road Show while it is in the Bedford area in October? It will be sited at Bedford School in the week beginning Monday 2nd for pupil participation during school hours and available for adult presentations in the evenings from Monday 2nd to Thursday 5th at 7.00 & 8.30pm.
Presentations will take place at other venues later in the month.
The programme can be varied to suit the particular interests of the group.
Bookings of 30 -36 people are recommended. Further information available nearer the time .
Please get in touch with Ann Hudson on 720587.
Birthdays - September 2000
Birthday Greetings to:
Bethan Lee who will be 11 on 16th September and Daniel Bridgman who will be 10 on 24th September and to everyone else who has a birthday in September!
September Diary
1st 7.00pm John Zaradin Concert, Mill Theatre Sharnbrook.
3rd 11.00am Exemption Dog Show, Grounds of Sharnbrook Mill Theatre.
4th 8.00pm Parish Council Meeting, Village Hall.
9th 10.00am Sponsored Bike Ride.
12th 7.30pm WI Meeting in Village Hall
13th. 10.30am Meeting Point, Rectory Farm, Odell.
20th 8.00pm PCC Meeting at the Rectory.
23rd 10.00am Church Decorating.
24th 10.00am Harvest Festival, All Saints.
27th 7.30pm Railway Development – Public Meeting, Sharnbrook Village Hall (see page 36)
30th 7.30pm Harvest Supper, Village Hall.
October Diary
14th 7.30pm Jubilee Sailing Trust Charity Supper, Watermead, Harrold.
21st 7.30pm Odell WI Evening with Riverside Singers, Village Hall.
Magazine Deadline
Please send all entries for the October magazine to Tricia Hudson (triciahudson@kbnet.co.uk), Anne Turner or Catherine Corkery by September 12th at the latest. May we remind you that the editorial team exercises the right to edit, shorten or alter any items that are submitted. Also, the opinions expressed in the articles are those of the contributors and are not the responsibility of the editorial team.
Gift Aid – New Rules Can Benefit Our Church
Many people will know that the Church and other charities have in the past been able to benefit by getting tax repayments on money paid under Deeds of Covenant and on single payments of a minimum of £250 under Gift Aid. This year's Budget has made great changes and now a tax repayment can be claimed on any payment, however small, provided the person who made it can be identified, has paid at least the relevant amount of tax, and has said they want the payment treated under Gift Aid.
If you do not already take part in the existing envelope scheme, please help us to get as much tax repaid as possible by putting any money you give to the Church, in collections at services or in any other way, in an envelope with your name on it. This also applies to one-off donations, and our Treasurer, Helen Chapman, is arranging to put suitable envelopes in the Church with the necessary details printed on them.
If you have any queries about this, please contact Helen Chapman on 01234 720131. Please help if you can. Payments made under the new scheme can be worth 28% more with the tax repayment!
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