April 2018

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REGULAR CHURCH ACTIVITIES The regular weekly activities within the church are outlined below. There are phone numbers given to ring if you need further information.

SUNDAY 10.00am The Bridge 10.00am Morning Service and Sunday Club 6.30pm Evening Service Holy Communion, morning and evening as announced

MONDAY 1.15pm Prayers for the Week 1.30pm Carpet Bowls 2.00pm Open Door

TUESDAY 2.30pm Women’s Fellowship (fortnightly) 6.00pm Boys’ Brigade - Anchor Boys 7.00pm Boys’ Brigade - Junior/Company sections

WEDNESDAY 5.45pm Girls’ Brigade - Explorers 6.00pm Girls’ Brigade - Junior/Company sections

THURSDAY 9.30am Toddler Thursday 7.30pm Focus (fortnightly) & Forum (monthly) 7.30pm Searchlight Fellowship Group at St Mary’s Hall

FRIDAY 7.30pm Bridge Prayer meeting (monthly) 7.30pm Carpet Bowls

SATURDAY 9.30am Meanders (fortnightly, tel: 871844) 10.00am Mini-Meanders (monthly, tel: 821845) For details of House groups phone Chris Cogan on 0191 271 2637

Minister: Rev Jona Sewell 61 Cheviot View, Ponteland, NE20 9BH. Tel: 822057

E-mail: revjsewell@gmail.com

Church website http://www.ponteland-methodist-church.org.uk/

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MINISTER’S LETTER 4 Ls!

I once overheard a child remark to her parent, "Look, the cross is made of 4 Ls". It took me a moment to realise what she was talking about (one upside-down, one back-to-front, one upside-down and back-to-front, one the right way) and it made me think about the 4 Ls found in the cross and what they may be for me:

• Life - although the cross was a horrific instrument of death, in Je-sus we find 'Life in all its fullness'. In him we can find meaning, pur-pose, direction, hope, peace, assurance, acceptance, renewal and so much more; we know he is trustworthy because death was not the final word; he rose to new life in which our transformation is grounded.

• Light - in John's Gospel we find Jesus described as the 'Light of the World' as he consistently exposed the darkness within people, structures and society. Light brings exposure and with it the hope of change, reconciliation and transformation. The world went dark when the Light died upon the cross, but dawned again with the res-urrection hope of Easter Day. Without Light there would be no Life.

• Love - the cross reminds us of the extent of God's Love for the whole of creation, humanity and even for me. It is amazing Love, un-failing Love, unending Love. Or as Charles Wesley wrote, it is 'Love divine, all loves excelling!'

• Learn - we know Life, Light, Love and so much more, because of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. It seems to me that, because of this, we also have a responsibility to Learn and to 'practise what we preach'. We must Learn the Jesus way and be willing to pick up our cross and follow - to know Life and offer Life to others, even at sacri-fice and cost to ourselves. To be Lights in the world exposing the darkness that still is found in people, society and structures. And to be a people known for Love, the Love that can only be found in God. We can only be Life, Light and Love if we know their reality within us, if we are willing to Learn from them and let them work in us... Life, Light, Love, Learn. 4 Ls found in the cross and story of Easter. What Ls do you see? Happy Easter.

Jona

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AT THE HEART…

At the Heart of summer is yellow… The sun shines on bejewelled sea

Kids happy as can be Old folks stroll in geraniumed parks

Tennis balls fly in arcs Flashing buttercups make us smile

And we can rest awhile.

At the Heart of autumn is red… Leaves start to fall from weary trees

Winged seeds lift in cool breeze Ripe apples picked to make crumbles

Dying bees cease bumbles Scarlet berries hang everywhere

And we lay down our care.

At the Heart of winter is black… Pitch dark as we struggle to wake

Gloomy for tea and cake Stark silhouettes of bare branches

Hard frost blackens bushes Sad memories bring salty tears

And we grieve for lost years.

At the heart of Spring is green… New life cracks softening moist earth

Woolly lambs dance with mirth Birds fill warming air with singing

Church bells gladly ringing Christ alive gives living reason

And we give thanks for all life’s seasons.

Ann Cooper

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CLOTHES BAR I hope by now you have heard about the clothes bar. This will be based at Lemington Methodist Church, but we are seeking wider ecumenical and circuit support. The Clothes Bar’s aim is to support families in need by initially providing clothes for chil-dren aged 4 to 12 years and toiletries for people of all ages. How can you help? You can help by collecting and donating used and new chil-dren’s clothes – everything from trousers, jeans, t-shirts, dress-es, leggings, jumpers, coats to hats, gloves, and footwear. All underwear must be brand new. Donations of toiletries are also required; everything from shampoo and shower gel to shaving equipment, feminine hygiene products, toothbrushes and tooth-paste. You can also help by donating your time. We aim to have a ro-ta where people will serve no more than once a month. People are needed to act as ‘Personal Shoppers’ and to serve on the ‘Toast Team’, providing drinks, toast and offering friendship to any visitors. The clothes bar will initially open weekly on a Tuesday morning from 9:30am until approximately 11:30am. 'There will be an open 'dry run' morning on April 17th, 9:30 - 11:30 where anyone can come and see what's happening; those considering or offer-ing to volunteer are particularly encouraged to attend. If you would like more information or feel you can help in any way then please get in touch with me.

Jona Sewell

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GAZA – ON THE VERGE OF CATASTROPHE I have just returned from a visit to Gaza in which we (eight peo-ple under the banner of the Church of Scotland), heard time and again of the deteriorating situation in Gaza. We visited clinics, a vocational training centre, a human rights centre, a youth group, and met with the leaders of the Near East Council of Churches. The message was consistent from each of them. Things have never been as bad as they are now – and they are deteriorating. The thing that has precipitated the present deterioration in the situation in Gaza is the decision by President Trump to cut the funding given by the US to UNRA – the agency which has been helping the poorest families to at least have enough food. While the central market in Gaza City still exhibits a produce, much of it is beyond the price that the poorest families can afford. Various agencies who work in Gaza have expressed the view that there simply isn’t enough food going into Gaza for the two million people who live there. That of course takes us to the Blockade of Gaza. I call it a blockade, not a siege, as clearly some goods do go into Gaza and some – much less – come out. However, the blockade is responsible for transforming a thriving self-sufficient region into a community in need of exten-sive support just to survive. It is simply not getting it- Gaza has gone out of the attention of the media and is largely forgotten. But lack of food is only one problem among many that Gaza fac-es. We were told that electricity is now on four hours a day – an increase on the two hours a day it was on a short time ago. The water is unsafe to drink – but many people have to – and as a result the clinics and hospitals are seeing a huge increase in such complaints as kidney stones. Many medicines are unavail-able. We were told by one charity that eighty common medi-cines are not permitted to enter Gaza. It is difficult to get a clear answer to why that is – it seems that in some cases it is for “security” reasons – that theoretically the drugs could be used to manufacture explosives. That explanation is dismissed as laughable by medical staff we spoke to. Others suggest that it is as a result of political manoeuvring between Israel, the Palestin-ian Authority and Hamas. As if the situation isn’t bad enough, there is also a real fear that another Gaza war could break out at any minute. While we were there, there were three bombing raids by Israeli jets in the north

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of the Gaza Strip (I slept through it but others in the group said that they heard the explosions). Word on the streets says that Hamas has recruited 40,000 soldiers for their military wing. With unemployment amongst the young at 65% in Gaza and Hamas having been supplied with funds from another Middle Eastern country, many young people have been attracted to join as they simply have few other options. Many people outside Gaza have interpreted the willingness of Hamas to join in a peace process with Fatah as a sign of their weakness, but we were told that this is far from the truth, and that they are better prepared for a Gaza war than ever before. I just hate to think what might hap-pen with 40,000 Hamas soldiers taking on the Israeli forces in the densely packed urban communities of the Gaza Strip. The fear on the ground is that this would be far worse than anything that they have ever known before. Leaving Gaza is never easy, saying goodbye to people we have

seen doing wonderful work, but know-ing that they might well face a war before we will see them again. Nei-ther was it easy getting through the Erez crossing back into Israel. Airport security is as nothing compared to what you face as you leave Gaza. At least this time the soldiers and the security staff were polite and friendly – sometimes before I have known open hostility to anyone who visits Gaza. This is totally a humanly-caused cri-sis. For years the blockade of Gaza

has cried out for a sensible resolution. It has remained as a ter-rible testimony to what political failure can do. Now it is on the brink of catastrophe. Two million people in a densely-packed population squeezed into a small area between Israel and the sea. Huge problems facing them day by day simply to survive, and now they face the prospect of a vicious war. God help them…... please..….for we have all failed them.

Rev John Howard, Mission Partner Israel-Palestine 19

th March 2018 on https://therevdjohnhoward.wordpress.com

Girls at the Shija’ia Family

Health Centre in a trauma

therapy class. How many of

these children would sur-

vive another Gaza war?

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FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT 2018 A big thank-you to everyone who supported events during Fairtrade Fortnight, despite the wintry weather. Stock worth over £140 was sold at the Traidcraft stall at the Open Door on Monday 26

th February. Profit from the stall, to-

gether with a donation from the takings of Open Door, have been sent to Traidcraft Exchange’s Hidden Entrepreneur Ap-peal, supporting people in developing countries, like Kasahara from Kenya; people who have all the talent and determination to be successful, but who otherwise would lack the opportunity. Kasahara said that his parents farmed simply to eat, that being employed by someone else gave no freedom to plan, however running his own business puts him in a good position to plan new things. Our donation of £72 will be matched pound for pound by the UK Government to help “Hidden Entrepreneurs” like Kasahara build a better future for their families and commu-nities. A letter of thanks from Traidcraft Exchange is on the no-ticeboard in the foyer. The Big Brew at St Mary’s Church led to a donation of £360 to Traidcraft Exchange, together with an additional £360 donated from the profit of Traidcraft stalls held throughout the year. St Matthew’s Big Brew raised a huge total of £716.

A new event for this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight was an infor-mation stall outside Waitrose on the morning of Saturday 3

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March, run by members of the Fairtrade Town Steering Group. Leaflets were handed out to shoppers and it was encouraging to hear from so many that they already include fairtrade items in

their weekly shop. Thanks to everyone who supported the Traidcraft stalls at the Brigades’ coffee morning and after the parade service. Over £170 worth of goods were sold and as a result the Brigades have donated £27.00 to Traidcraft Exchange’s Hidden Entrepre-neur Appeal. This figure will be matched by the UK government, so well done everyone!

Bev

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YOUTH AND FAMILY COORDINATOR Hi, my name is Alison Maynard, I am married to Neil who is Min-ister in the Bede circuit, covering South Tyneside and Gates-head. We live with our rescue cat called Smokey in Hebburn. Over the past three weeks I have met and worked alongside some of you. It has been a busy time getting to know your faces and where you fit into Ponteland Methodist Church. So far myself and Tatiana our Time for God worker have been to the Brigades to determine how we might support them and we have been involved in their coffee morning and helping out on the Saturday evening of the girls’ sleepover. It’s been a joy to get to know these groups and we are excited about where the future will take us as we continue to support and engage with them. Tatiana, myself and Rev Tim Woolley met with Mr McGrane the Headteacher at Ponteland High School in our first week and we are excited to begin to explore how we might build bridges from here in our church to the school. Tatiana and myself are meeting with pupils on 27

th March to start the process of sharing ideas

and ways forward in this work. We also spent three days at St Marys with the pupils and staff from the Richard Coates Middle School assisting with prayer stations. Mrs Cape, the Headteach-er is keen to develop links and we will be meeting again in April. My working days for the 16 hours I’m appointed for are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and as many Sundays as I am able to attend. My contact details are Phone: 07772 482036 - email: alisonmaynard1@hotmail.com . It’s been a very exciting and busy three weeks and I personally would like to thank you for your very warm welcome and look forward to working alongside you as we discover what God is preparing us for and where He is leading us to minister. Every Blessing Alison Maynard

Hello my name is Tatiana Méndez, I am the Time for God volun-teer and I am from Colombia to help to build links that can con-nect the young people from the community with church and ulti-mately with God. I want to use this opportunity to say thank you for all the friendly, kind and welcoming words, it make the set-tling process easier. If for any reason somebody needs to con-tact me my mobile is: 07305 160739 or you can also contact me at Gaye Templeton’s house, her number is: 825648. God bless you! Tatiana Méndez

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SUCCESS AT SWIMMING One of our close family friends, Emily Large, from Ponteland will be swimming at the Common-wealth Games this April. At only 17 years old she will be competing in senior races against other swimmers who are at least five years older than her. Emily was selected to compete in the 100 fly and 200 fly for Team England having won gold at the World Jun-ior Championships in Indianapolis last August. Emily is the current

European and World Junior champion in 200m butterfly. The Commonwealth Games in Brisbane will be her second major championship in the senior ranks, having debuted at the Euro-pean Short Course Championships in Copenhagen last Decem-ber. Her events take place on Thursday 5th April and Monday 9th April and will be televised on the BBC.

Sue Kirtley

CHURCH HALL CHAIRS The Finance and Property committee have taken the decision to replace the chairs in the Church Hall. We have chosen a sample of Alpha Furniture’s best selling chairs which will be on our premises for the next few weeks. We would very much wel-come your feedback. The colour and fabric of the sample chairs is not important at this stage, it is the suitability of the chairs for use in the hall which we would very much value at this time. This includes the comfort and stacking flexibility of the chairs. Please give any feedback to Geoff Lisle, Andy Anderson or Nigel Bates.

DOOR CODES At the recent F and P meeting it was agreed to change the front doors and key safe codes on Friday 6

th April. This is good cus-

tom and practice every so often as a security issue. An email will be issued to key members next week. Geoff and Andy

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NEWS OF SHADE AND NORTHERN KENYA Dear friends, greetings from Kenya and wishing you all a happy Easter. We are all doing well: however I am suddenly feeling rather old...Wesley has just become a teenag-er!! It’s rather cold here at the moment (believe it or not) due to the rains. We actually had hail yesterday! It has been raining all over Kenya and thankfully, there has been much-needed rain in the Mount Nyiro area. We are thankful that the political situation in Kenya has taken a positive turn following the stand-off between the re-elected Na-tional Government and the opposition. It has been an uneasy time since last August. So to news of SHADE. We are excited to have a graduate in community development, who used to work with us, returning in April to undertake work with youth and women's groups, primari-ly in health education and Aids Awareness, but also to support community health workers in their early childhood development work and monitoring of children for malnutrition. She will also assist with distributing items to be bought through the present-aid scheme, such as plimsolls to protect children’s feet, soap, water containers and water-proof sheeting, to the most needy people in the local communities. There continue to be intermittent cattle raids and security prob-lems in the Baragoi area of Samburu County. Please continue to pray for peace and cohesion in Samburu County and for suc-cessful initiatives to that end. Thanks, as always, for your pray-ers and support.

Alison Lesingiran

1st Ponteland Boys’ & Girls’ Brigade Coffee Morning

The total amount raised was £528.00.

A big thank-you from both the Boys’ and Girls’ Brigades.

NEXT EVENT

We have a curry and quiz night on the 26th April Tickets £17

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A fun Easter biscuit to bake with the children. Great tasting too.

Judith

250g caster sugar 150g butter 2 eggs 450g plain flour 2 tsp baking powder Zest of an orange 1 tbsp orange juice

Easter biscuits

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs until smooth. Stir in the flour and baking powder. Mix in the orange zest and juice. Roll out the dough to a 6mm thickness. Cut out rabbit shapes ( or any other shapes you wish) Place on a baking tray and bake for 8-10 mins. Ice and decorate as desired.

Summer Opening Times

Mondays 2pm-4.30pm (Except bank holidays)

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VILLAGE NEWS Flats on the former library site on Thornhill Road These flats are being built by Ascent Homes (part of NCC). The Journal of 24th March states that there will be 25 flats—some with one bedroom and some with two. The complex is being called Hemingway Court. Athol House sheltered Housing is closing Pont News & Views reports that Athol house is to be demol-ished and rebuilt. Currently there are 35 apartments, but the new unit will have 32 larger apartments. Current residents have been asked to move out. It is expected that it could take more than a year to find suitable alternative housing. Residents are not guaranteed a place in the new unit, but will have to apply. Work on the development is not expected to start until 2020. New homes at Medburn Northumberland CC has given approval to Bellway to build 62 new homes. This follows an earlier decision to allow 82 homes. Ponteland Town Council are concerned that the extra 144 house could damage the character of the hamlet.

Jennifer Hardy

CIRCUIT MATTERS A Circuit meeting was held on Tuesday 20

th March at Wester-

hope Methodist Church. About 40 attended. Beside the routine matters, it was reported that the finances were very much the same as reported to last September’s meeting; that the Bond was now rented out and being used, and that the land next to the Bond is being tended by the Scotswood Garden Group. Tim Woolley has become involved in the Cornerstone Project as a Trustee, and the Project would be continuing at reduced activity. It was reported that the Stationing process for the replacement of Rev Tim Thorpe was going ahead with a visit of a prospective candidate on Saturday 24

th March.Thanks were given to Peter

Hindle who is retiring after several years of faithful and active service as Senior Circuit Steward. David Forrester takes over this position.As this was the last Circuit meeting Rev Tim Thorpe would attend, he was also thanked for his energetic ser-vice in the Circuit.

Andrew Pay

Ponteland Stewards’ Circuit Representative

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SAM’S STORY – THE FOURTH SIGN

“They say the Rabbi Jesus is back in Galilee, Mother. Can Tom and I go to hear him today?” “Of course,” was the reply and Sam’s mother gave them a small baked fish each and a flat loaf of bread. “Oh, and you may meet friends with no lunch; take three more loaves to share.” Crowds were moving north along the shore of the Lake. The lads were told that the Rabbi had been seen being rowed in that direction, and went with the great crowd for some miles, right into a place far from any town, and here they gathered on a great grassy slope and listened spellbound to the teaching of Jesus, whose powerful voice reached each eager ear in the great natural amphitheatre facing the Lake. The day wore on and no-one realised how the hours were pass-ing. Sam and Tom had worked their way near the front and were just thinking of starting on their packet of lunch when Sam said: “I wonder whether Jesus has anything to eat himself. He looks really tired after all that speaking and could do with some-thing. He could have some of our spare loaves. That’s Andy Bar Jonas with him there, he’s a pal of my Dad and awfully nice. I’ll go and ask him to offer them to Jesus.” As young Sam approached Andrew, a sudden generous im-pulse came to him. Hadn’t Jesus just been talking about not worrying about what you need to eat, about trusting God? “Andrew,” he said as he came to his Dad’s friend, “here are two fishes and five loaves. Please give them to Jesus, I’m sure he’s really hungry after all his teaching.” That evening Sam told his mother about them giving their lunch to Jesus. “So generous, but you must have been very hungry yourself,” she exclaimed. “But that was the wonderful thing! We all had lots to eat! Thou-sands of us! Jesus’ twelve men came round with baskets of fish and bread and we all had as much as we wanted! It was like Moses feeding the tribes in the wilderness with quails and man-na! When we gave our fish and bread to Andrew he showed them to Jesus who took them in his hands and said that proper prayer, the one that blesses God for all His creation and the fruits of the ground, and then started to break up the loaves and

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put them into his men’s baskets and the same with the fish, and somehow they seemed to grow and multiply and go on filling the baskets until there was more than enough for everyone in the crowd! The widow Elijah fed with a never-emptying jar was nothing to this! It’s a Sign, Mother, God’s sign: Jesus is not just a good rabbi, he’s a new Moses!”

John M Gill

A DIARY DATE NOT TO BE MISSED........ The meeting of Men’s Forum on the 12th April will welcome a presentation from Tim Morgan who is Finance Director of SHARED INTEREST – INVESTING IN A FAIRER WORLD. The date is special because our Church is a Fairtrade supporter as is seen in the article written by Bev in this edition of Corner-stone. So what is the link between SHARED INTEREST AND Fairtrade? It is neatly found on the SHARED INTEREST web-site and it is repeated here.

“WE BELIEVE IN A FAIRER WORLD Our aim is to alleviate poverty by enabling people in remote and disadvantaged communities, to trade and earn a living. We do this by pooling the investments of our members and lend these funds to farmers and handcraft producers, who buy seeds, fertilisers and raw materials. Once they sell their crops or crafts, they pay back the loan, and we lend this money again. Your investment may not make you rich but it will enrich the lives of others.” Tim Morgan will tell us more about the £multimillion investments they make, the countries where it goes and provide examples of the outcome from the investment. It will be an interesting even-ing. Try to be there.

Alan Kilburn

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A NEW DAY DAWNS – AN EASTER HYMN

A new day dawns; a new word spoken breaks the silence of the night. The First-born Prince of Life has woken; hear his voice: ‘Let there be light!’

A new day dawns; a new creation brighter than the first big bang: Now heaven floods to every nation; New life where the death-tolls rang.

A new day dawns; a different garden sees the Firstborn breathe once more. His grace has smashed the curse of Eden; Love has opened up the door.

A new day dawns, and new potential sweeps into our time and space: No tomb can hold him, Love Essential; Peace shines from his glorious face.

A new day dawns; his feet are treading on this old world’s worn-out ways. And with each step fresh hope is spreading – launching countless more new days.

A new day dawns; a new tomorrow greets the children of the Light, where neither tears, nor death, nor sorrow dare to reach Love’s wondrous height.

2010, 2017, 2018 © Andrew T. Murphy. This text is registered with CCLI. (CCLI #7005872)

Music: “Triumphant” © Matt Allen 2017, 2018 Metre: 97.97.

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THE BRIDGE IN APRIL There is a contemporary café-style

worship service. WORSHIP: all services at 10 am in the

Church hall. What's on at the Bridge?...

Alpha at the Bridge - the Bridge Alpha sessions will be exploring (on alternate Sundays general-

ly) some of the basic questions of the Christian faith using the newly revised Alpha course material. Each session looks at a different question and is designed to create conversation. Alpha is run all around the globe and has helped many people to find faith, deepen faith, or just to consider the questions. Anyone is welcome to join us for as many sessions as you're able or want to - there's no pressure at all. It begins at the same time as reg-ular Bridge services. As such, the next month is shaping up like this: Sun April 1st - Joint service for Easter Sunday Sun April 8th - Alpha 3 – "Why Did Jesus Die?" Sun April 15th - Bridge service with communion - Jona Sewell Sun April 22nd - Alpha 4 – "How Can I Have Faith?" (with Tim Woolley) The Bridge at Party in the Park - Party in the Park is on June 10th this year, and detailed planning will be getting under way shortly. In recent years we have operated a Bridge tent with children's activities included. It's a great opportunity to raise the profile of our Christian presence in the community and chat with folk about what we're all about. If you would like to help out this year then please do get in touch with me and let me know. (tim.woolley1@googlemail.com) Planning begins in March. Prayer: The prayer group continues to meet the second Friday of each month (this will be Friday 13th April), 7.30pm at 35 Longmeadows, NE20 9DX. All are welcome at this informal, friendly group!

Rev Tim Woolley

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Lives transformed through old tools!

Do you have any old tools or unused sewing or knitting ma-chines lying around just taking up space? Our church is devel-oping links with a well-established Christian charity called ‘Tools with a Mission’ that collects old tools and other items, recondi-tions them centrally, and then distributes them to deserving pro-jects in various countries around the world. These tools can be life-changing for those who receive them. My Father-in-law is one of the North East reps for TWAM, and I’m happy to collect any tools / sewing machines, etc. or you can bring them to the Methodist church. When we have built up a car load it will be passed onto him. For more information about the work of the charity and more information about the things they collect to make use of, please visit www.twam.uk Many thanks! Rev. Tim Woolley (Tel: 01661 598978 / Mob: 07899 896673, or email: tim.woolley1@googlemail.com)

Suggestions

Builders’ tools

Carpenters’ tools

Electricians’ tools

Gardeners’ tools

Ground workers’ tools

Leatherworkers’ tools

Motor mechanics’

Plumbers’ tools

Shoemakers’/cobblers’ tools

Garage workshop

Power tools

Children’s scholar packs

Sewing machines

Knitting machines

Haberdashery

Computers

NO broken tools

NO clothes

NO kitchen equipment

NO bicycles

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GARDENING FOR APRIL 2018 If conditions in your garden are anything like they are in ours very little will have been done in the garden during March. Feb-ruary will probably be remembered for the frozen nightmare of snow and ice that arrived at the end of the month – “the beast from the east”. This last weekend (writing 19 March) we have endured heavy rain followed by the “mini beast from the east”! Despite the long spells of rain in December, January and more recently, the Met Office claims that during this long winter there has been about a third more sunshine than usual based on rec-ords going back to 1929 – the winter has been a long one and we must look forward to less precipitation, more sunshine and warmer south westerly/westerly winds. All I got done in March outdoors was to prune some clematis

that are summer-flowering. Margaret cleared up many large bags of leaves that had accumulated from late Sep-tember onwards – there had rarely been any suitable days for clearing. As we look forward it will be time to assess the lawn(s). Ours are full of moss which if not treated will depress grass growth – I normally apply iron sulphate

(2 – 3 ounces per gallon; dissolve in warm water and use a fine rose watering can). To stimulate the grass at the same time I add 2 -3 oz of a soluble high nitrogen mineral fertilizer to the mix . Usually by now a phosphate and potash mix (farm fertiliz-er) will have been spread over the grass – that is still to do. The moss will go black and die. This can be removed by hand or mechanical raking collected and disposed of at the “tip” – moss does not compost hence we have the accumulation over thou-sands of years mainly on moors forming peat which is still har-vested for making garden compost. With the lawn mower ser-viced grass cutting will follow at the end of April with the cutters set high for the first couple of cuts. Garden centres and nurseries are full of plants ready for plant-ing, even with some going past their best. Look out for special offers as long as the flowers are still in prime condition. I prefer to buy with flower buds unopened but garden centres want to sell with flowers fully open. The various primulas make a good

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show for a few weeks in April and most can be lifted, divided and planted again to grow on for next year. Bergenias have be-come more popular again with new varieties. Look for compact “Baby Doll” for the smaller garden. “Eden’s Magic Giant”, “Pink Dragon fly” and “Sakura” will all have pink flowers; “Pink Ice” has clumps of large glossy leaves and pink-fleshed white blos-soms. It is time to get out the begonias and dahlias that you carefully

stored last autumn and get them started into growth. Use good quality moist compost, possibly enriched with some blood, fish and bone fertilizer under them. A little heat will encourage earlier growth but you are only looking to plant them outdoors when the fear of frost has passed. Each year Thompson &

Morgan (T & M) will come up with something exclusive. This year they have a multi-branching, pot sunflower called “Sunbelievable Brown Eyed Girl” which they claim can produce 1000 flowers from May to November. Two plants in 9cm (3 ½in) pots are available now from Thompson & Morgan for £19.99. The grower will have to pot them on, probably through three pot changes, indoors until the end of May when they can go outside in at least 15-inch diameter pots. They should not need sup-port. Finally may I mention pruning winter-flowering shrubs with a view to getting more new blooms at the end of the year. Maho-nia can have the old flowering stems cut back hard into the main frame work of the shrub to promote strong growth. To maintain the upright habit of Vibernum bodnantense, cut back some of the older stems to encourage new growth from the base. Shrubby winter honeysuckles can be pruned to maintain their bushy habit. After you think the worst frosts have gone it is time to prune hydrangeas. With most of the mopheads, cut out some of the oldest stems to encourage new growth but remember to leave the main flowering stems only clipped back to a pair of strong buds to ensure having flowers. Some of the more mod-ern varieties that flower on this year’s growth can be cut well back. With ours in planters I have to keep moving them on or doing root pruning and putting them back into new compost. Don’t forget the Church Plant Sale on Saturday 12th May. Good gardening in April.

Syd Cowan

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FAMILY NEWS

It has been lovely to welcome both Alison and Tatiana in their roles as Youth Workers. We were delighted to see Rachel Wood back with us. Welcome back too to Noreen Green, who is now well enough to be with us again. Belated congratulations to Bob Swift who recently celebrated a special birthday. Both he, and Pauline, have been unwell for a while. We do hope that they will be back with us again shortly. Aileen Hay asks for prayers for two special friends, both of whom are coping with serious health problems. Good news- Brian and Joyce Davis's grandson Tommy has now been given a clean bill of health after bouts of surgery. Congratulations to both Andrew and Christine Pay, who cele-brated their Golden Wedding at end of March. They are both awaiting hospital admission for operations. Please remember Steve and Rosemary Gray in your prayers. Vera Lonsdale, a long-standing member of our study groups, is moving into Room 8, Ponteland Manor. She would be delighted to see any of her Methodist friends. Call if you can! Please remember both David and Margaret Penry in your prayers. Please remember Marjorie Scarlett in our prayers. Rhod Dunn is going for an eye operation soon. Please remember Rosie Doherty in your prayers, as she be-gins another course of treatment.

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DATES FOR THE DIARY April Sunday 1st 10.00am Easter Sunday Tuesday 10th 2.30pm Women’s Fellowship—Rev Judith Oldroyd Thursday 12th 7.30pm Forum—Tim Morgan 7.30pm Focus—Peter Aughton Sunday 15th 11.30am Church GCM Saturday 14th 9.30am Meanderers walk the Weardale Way Saturday 21st 10.00am Mini Meander Tuesday 24th 2.30pm Women’s Fellowship—Jean Tweedie & Jennifer Hardy Thursday 26th 7.00pm Christian Aid Concert Saturday 28th 9.30am Meanders led by John & Margaret Bell

THANK YOU I and my family want to thank you, our friends at Ponteland Methodist Church, so very much for your many kindnesses and support during these last few weeks since Mainland’s death last month. The widespread respect and love in which he was held has been very evident from the many cards and letters that we have received. They, your prayers, and the words of comfort from so many of you have helped and continue to help us through this difficult time as we try to adjust to our great loss. May God bless you all.

Janet Dodds

WEST END FOOD BANK Thank you all so very, very much for your really generous sup-port of Food Bank donations over the Lent period. The food supply has been extremely gratefully received and appreciated, resulting in many families benefitting from our kind- ness. De-spite the weather in the final week, 17.26 KG was still provided. Of course, enormous needs for food still continues and many families have to be fed, so, may our response and generosity be maintained. Thank you again.

Brian Davis

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CHRISTIAN AID CONCERT

Thursday April 26th - 7pm Ponteland Methodist Church

Don’t miss GARETH DAVIES-JONES, an award winning pro-fessional singer-songwriter, who plays a variety of instruments. His 11 albums include memorable melodies about lighthouses, maritime daring and tragedy, WW1 tunnellers, history of mining, landscape of Northumberland, the Sermon on the Mount, songs of hope, love and longing. Gareth will also be showing a Chris-tian Aid exhibition - ‘Inherit the Earth’.

Tickets are £10 from Ann Cooper (01661 824347) & Pauline Groves (01661 824764)

From The Editors Don’t forget that copy for the May edition of Cornerstone should be with the editor by Friday 27th April 2018. The editor’s email address is andrew.anderson@which.net . The editorial committee is Andy Anderson, Jennifer Hardy, Jona Sewell and Viv Whyte.

Preachers April

1st 10.00am Sewell (S AA) 6.30pm Wriglesworth 8th 10.00am Alpha 10.00am Cunningham 6.30pm LA 15th 10.00am Sewell (S) 10.00am P Brooks 6.30pm Sewell 22nd 10.00am Woolley (Alpha) 10.00am Wood 6.30pm Wynne 29th 10.00am Small 10.00am Sewell 6.30pm Thorpe