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ST. COLUMBA INFORMER

March 2015

Praycation How do you tend to pray? Do you

like to sit in a particular chair, or

perhaps it’s part of your morning or

evening routine. Our Praycation

event was a great opportunity to

discover new ways to pray, and it

involved all of the senses.

Around fifty of us from St Columba,

Holy Trinity and St John’s churches

met at St John’s on February 7th. As

a group of churches, we often enjoy

a parishes weekend away in

Bournemouth. This year we

decided to share a “staycation”, a

holiday at home, instead; we chose

prayer as our focus and Praycation

was born!

Praying through movement, using the Lord’s Prayer and the Magnificat, was about expressing our thoughts to God in a combination of dance and drama, using our whole selves. We learned too how to use Tai Chi and Japanese

walking prayer to calm ourselves to

listen to God. Visual ways of praying

included using icons to focus our

thoughts, and meditating using a

small natural object. There were

also prayer bags, with surprise

objects to lead us into praying for

ourselves and the world.

Touch featured in clay modelling,

linked closely with Biblical passages

of God as the potter and us as the

clay. There was prayerful unknotting

of tangled lengths of string –

incredibly satisfying! We used our

hearing as we listened to natural

sounds and imagined being on the

seaside or in woodland; we then

allowed God to speak to us through

the experience. Another workshop

encouraged us to sing in a spirit-filled

way, raising our voices in harmony

and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide

us.

An active grace at lunchtime

brought in our senses of smell and

taste. We prayed and savoured

foods from around the world

while holding farmers in our

thoughts and praying for their

welfare. A multisensory tent was

the perfect place to be miles away

from everywhere, surrounded by

soft cushions, incense, lava lamps

and gentle music.

Fizzy forgiveness made us think

about what it means to accept

God’s forgiveness and for him to

take away our shame completely.

It was surprisingly powerful to

watch a fizzy tablet dissolving in

water! Prayer for the community

were added to paper dolls which

we have each taken back to our

churches – perhaps you spotted

them on our altar at St Columba.

And writing words in sand helped

us to think through the words that

God has for us compared with

words that have been hurtful or

damaging.

There was much more in the day

than this brief report can describe!

So much that some of us wanted

another chance to take it all in.

We hope to run some of the

prayer stations again, either as

part of our worship or as a repeat

event for our churches. If you

would be interested in coming

along, or in helping in any way,

please let me know.

Perhaps hearing about the

Praycation has encouraged you to

think about prayer as talking and

listening to God in many different

ways. Prayer really can infuse

every part of our day, and doesn’t

have to be about sitting still with

our eyes closed. In our deanery,

there will be a week of

accompanied prayer this June –

more details in next month’s

Informer. Revd Ruth

The Long Road to

Heaven…

Our course, based on the film ‘The Way’,

exploring Christian understanding of ‘salvation’ continues…

Week 2: What are we saved for? Week 3: Who can be saved?

Week 4: What do we have to do to be saved? Week 5: How are we saved?

‘The Way’ stars Martin Sheen as a newly bereaved father,

who rather unwillingly joins a group of pilgrims walking The

Way of St James to Santiago de Campostella.

We highly recommend that you purchase the book to accompany this course, entitled ‘The Long Road to Heaven’ by Tim Heaton. Available from Rachel Abbey.

Tuesday evenings - at Holy Trinity Parish Centre. Time 7.30-9pm

Week 2 Tues 3rd March Week 4 Tues 17th March

Week 3 Tues 10th March Week 5 Tues 24th March

Thursday evenings - at The Highlands Hub, Highlands Road, Fareham.

Time 7.30pm-9pm.

Week 2 Thur 5th March Week 4 Thur 19th March

Week 3 Thur 12th March Week 5 Thur 26th March

Friday Mornings at St Columba Church, Hillson Drive, Fareham.

Time 10-11.30am. (*Week 5: 2 – 3.30pm)

Week 2 Fri 6th March Week 4 Fri 20th March

Week 3 Fri 13th March Week 5 Fri 27th March*

Early Birds Breakfast Club

Early Birds Breakfast Club at St

Columba Academy, was started

by a group from St Columba

Church in June 2013. The aim of

the club was to help ensure that

children arrived at school in

plenty of time for the start of the

school day and that they had a

good, nutritious breakfast to

prepare them for lessons.

The club initially met once a

fortnight, on a Friday. Children

would arrive at 7.45am for

cereals, toast and preserves, fruit

and fruit juices. Reverend Ruth

and I worked with a great team

of volunteers to provide

breakfast and we particularly

enjoyed eating with the children

and chatting to them about what

they were doing at school and

their plans for the weekend

ahead. After breakfast, there

was time to play board games or

do jigsaws. The children also

enjoyed colouring, word search

puzzles and designing and

testing their own paper

aeroplanes.

After a few months, the club

became a weekly Friday morning

event attended by approximately

12 children. During the school

holidays we also ran Early Birds

holiday sessions which included

a number of craft activities as

well as the usual games and

breakfast.

In recent weeks, St Columba

Academy has taken over the

running of the breakfast club and

it is now held every school day.

However, members of St

Columba Church still go along to

help and to keep up the good

relationships that have been

established with staff and

children. There is an opportunity

for more people to join in with

this ministry and if you would

like to be part of the breakfast

club team, please speak to Revd

Ruth. Kate Macfarlane

Year’s Mind for March 1st Robert Manktelow

2nd Carole Gladding, Ellen Hyde, Olwen Kirkby, Ronald Levey

3rd Frank Croucher, Lesley Pond, Desmond Smith

4th Florence Espin

5th Dorothy Bowyer, Fredrick Millard

6th Richard Budd

7th Clementina Finch, John Hucker, Arthur King

8th Freda Herring, Maurice Reading, Walter Robinson, Cyril Wheeler

9th

10th

11th Eileen Davies, Ernest Shand, John Woodcock

12th Sid Adams, Margaret Arnett

13th

14th Joyce Barnes, Bill Sweasey

15th Richard Grey, Vonita Newell, Barbara Smith

16th Ada Saunders

17th Hilda Budd, Vincent Butcher

18th Doris Peachey, Rose Wright

19th Bob Heys, Penelope Iredale, Florrie Stokes

20th Laurie Craft, George Short, Doris Yeldon

21st Royston Cobb, Harry Hindess, David Mondey

22nd

23rd Win Chilvers, Eileen Mondey

24th

25th Harry Gair, Wilfred Hicks, Joyce Severn

26th

27th Betty Benge, John Moss, Dennys Stevens,

28th

29th Penny Daniels, Chris Ward

30th William Brenton

31st Frederick Brown, James Muncaster, Ronald Robinson

Services at St Columba during March Prayer during the week – Tues & Thurs at the Hub – 9.15am 1st March – Lent 2

8am - Said Communion; 10am - All Age Morning Worship 6.30pm – Iona Service

8th March – Lent 3

8am - Said Communion 10am - Family Communion with Columba Kids

15th March – Mothering Sunday 8am - Said Communion 10am – Morning Worship with Columba Kids

22nd March – Lent 5 (Passion Sunday) 8am - Said Communion 10am – Family Communion with Columba Kids

29th March – Palm Sunday 8am - Said Communion 10am – Family Communion with Columba Kids

Services during Holy Week

30th March Monday of Holy Week 7.30pm Holy Communion with Meditation – St Columba 31st March Tuesday of Holy Week 9.15am Morning Prayer at Highlands Hub

7.30pm Holy Communion with Meditation – St Columba

1st April Wednesday of Holy Week 7.30pm Holy Communion with Meditation – St Columba 2nd April Maundy Thursday 9.15am Morning Prayer at Highlands Hub

7.30pm Holy Communion with Commemoration of the Last Supper – at Holy Trinity

3rd April Good Friday

9.00am Ecumenical service of hymns and readings – at Hill Park Baptist Church, followed by hot cross buns at the Highlands Hub

2pm Reflection for Good Friday 4th April Easter Day

6.00am Easter Vigil

10am Family Communion – with Easter Egg hunt

Holy Reading

Saturday 21st March

10am-3.30pm at

Portsmouth Cathedral, led

by Canon John Draper. A

day exploring the use of

Holy Reading or ‘Lectio

Divina’ as a way of

deepening our

relationship with God,

based on quiet or silent

meditation on a piece of

scripture. Cost: Donations

on the day to the Bishop’s

Lent Appeal.

The Costly Discipleship of Dietrich Bonhoeffer – led by Bob Thomas.

Saturday 18th April 10am – 3.30pm. A day of prayer and reflection drawing on

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life of Christian discipleship in the face of personal

danger and public evil in Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Cost: £8.50

Time to be Me – led by Gary Nicholls. Sat 16th May, 10am-3.30pm. Busy minds, busy bodies – this is a day for being busy, being still! There will be opportunities to practice strategies which can help our minds be still & relaxed; & not thinking about the everyday preoccupations we seem to fill our minds with each day – & sometimes at night! Cost: £8.50

The Food of Love – Led by Sue Hyland

Saturday 13th June. 10am – 3.30pm.

‘Music’s measure’ provides rich food for

our spiritual journeys; by listening to music

both sacred & secular, traditional &

contemporary, the day will provide an

opportunity to explore music’s healing

qualities, how it can bring inspiration,

peace, comfort & harmony, & lead us into

contemplative silence. Cost £8.50

Book via pamphlets in the foyer or contact Kay Lancaster Tel: 023 9289

9656 e-mail: kay.lancaster@portsmouth.anglican.org

Cathedral Spirituality Days

Let go and let God – Led by Rachel and Jeremy Hicks. Saturday 25th July 10am

– 3.30pm. Many of us lead extremely busy lives and often find ourselves

longing for a better balance. We all accumulate baggage as we go along &

wonder what we can shed. During the day there will be some input & sharing

as well as time for personal exercises, reflection and exploration. Cost £8.50

Acorn Christian Healing Foundation’s ‘Listening for Life’ course is a good

practical course to help you become aware of and develop your listening

skills. The course is taking place at Holy Trinity Church, Gosport on the

16th, 23rd, 30th April & 7th May from 7.30-10pm. The course covers

‘Listening to others’, ‘Listening to ourselves’, ‘Listening to God’, and costs

£10. Bookings close on 2nd April - leaflets are in the foyer.

Come and Sing…..Sunday 8th March 6-7pm - Holy Trinity Church Come, sing and reflect.

The start of a new monthly time of informal

worship where we can sing praise to God and see

where the Spirit leads us.

The focus will be on singing songs/hymns including

some space for prayerful listening and reflection.

If you have something you would like to sing then

contact Revd Garry, Revd Sally or Pete & Sue Hall.

Our aim is eventually to take requests “on the

day”, as the mood takes us. So … come and see ...

come and sing!

From St Columba Academy…..A Big “Thank You” to everyone who ordered from the Webb Ivory 2014

Christmas catalogue. A massive £350 was raised for Friends of St

Columba Academy (FoSCA) Funds. A meeting of “Friends” took place at

the beginning of February when we discussed how the money could be

spent. It was suggested that we arrange an Easter Egg Hunt for the school

children. Easter Eggs would also be supplied to each child. For further

information, please contact Rosemary Brewerton or June Haye at St

Columba Church.

Introducing ‘Safe Haven for Donkeys in the Holy Land’ – The Old Testament reading for the first Sunday in Lent was Genesis 9:8-17, in which God promises to never flood the earth again, and sets the rainbow in the sky as a sign of this promise.

What comes across particularly strongly in the text is the repeated emphasis on the fact that God’s covenant is with not only humans, but with ‘every living creature… the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth…’ As such, the creatures with whom we share this earth could perhaps be treated a little more respect as equal recipients of God’s grace.

Former air stewardess, Lucy Fensome, set up ‘Safe Haven for Donkeys in the Holy Land’ (SHADH) fifteen years ago in response to her experience working with the Jerusalem Society for the Protection of Animals, & it is one of the charities that has received a small share of this year’s parish charitable giving.

The humble donkey is one of the animals mentioned most often in the Bible. They were an essential part of life, and regarded as a symbol of industry and peace - and they still form an important part of life in modern day Israel and the West Bank, enabling harvesting of crops and transporting of goods to and from market. Sadly, in a land riven by fighting and de-sensitised to suffering of all sorts they have also been put to rather more extreme uses – in some cases used as unwitting ‘suicide bombers’ in the on-going conflict.

Many of the people who rely on donkeys, mules and horses for everyday transport are subsistence farmers - those who live on the edge of poverty, and they are therefore least able to afford veterinary care for the animals on which they rely. Ill-fitting and broken harnesses are a major cause of injury to donkeys – and an injured donkey is less capable of working effectively for the owners who reply on it, especially where wounds are left untreated through ignorance, or lack of access to affordable veterinary care.

Spotlight on World Concerns

SHADH works from two clinical centres - Nablus (Israel) and Qalqilya (Gaza) – and whilst they do take in donkeys that have been mistreated or abandoned, the greater part of their work is running mobile clinics which travel to more than twenty towns & villages on both sides of the Palestinian/Israeli border. These provide simple, basic veterinary care for the donkeys – hoof trimming, teeth rasping, worming, treatment of simple injuries, - and repairs to harnesses & carts. Some four hundred donkeys, mules & horses are treated by the various clinics each week.

SHADH also runs an extensive education programme with the intention of improving the overall working conditions for donkeys – a happy and well cared for donkey is more able to help the family that relies on it to put food on their table! Some aspects of care are cheap, simple and effective – for example putting a soft cover over a metal noseband prevents chafing - which can otherwise lead to open and infected wounds.

Simple ‘rest stops’ are also provided – with water & hay for working equines, & coffee for their owners – which help ensure the charity builds good relationships with people as well as donkeys! So, as we approach Palm Sunday I hope Jesus’ journey into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey might remind you to stop and say a prayer for the work of SHADH in the midst of a very turbulent and unpredictable part of the world. RA

Oasis Tea and Chat - Our friendly and

informal bereavement team work to support those who have suffered from the effects of losing a loved one. ‘The Oasis’ Tea and Chat Club has been formed to help with this support and meets between 2- 4pm for a cup of tea, homemade cake and a chat. The next dates are: Monday 2nd March at the Highlands Hub, Highlands Road Shopping Precinct; and Wednesday 18th March at Holy Trinity Church lounge, West Street. Come and join us, we would love to see you, with or without a friend. Contact June Haye on 01329 231449 if you would like to know more.

Parish Office: Holy Trinity Church, West Street, Fareham. PO16 0EL Opening Times: 9am-12 noon Monday – Friday Tel: 01329 232688 E-mail: office@htscf.org.uk Website: www.htscf.org.uk.

Team Vicar at St Columba: Revd Ruth Schofield – Tel: 01329 842300 E-mail: revrschofield@gmail.com

Rector: Revd Sally Davenport Tel: 07500 775926 E-mail: sally.davenport@portsmouth.anglican.org

Asst Curate: Revd Keith Wickert Tel: 07717 312426 E-mail: keithwickert@aol.com

Asst Curate: Revd Garry Roberts Tel: 07554 142729 E-mail: revdgarryroberts@virginmedia.com

St. Columba Leadership Team Area of Oversight Member’s Name Contact Tel. Number

Worship & Prayer Revd Ruth Schofield

01329 842300 / 07738 858909 Discipleship

Pastoral Care Mike King 01329 238194

Fabric & Finance Jane Whiteley 01329 668388

Fellowship Margaret Handley 01329 608817

Outreach Jim Palmer 01329 289568

Administration Rachel Abbey 01329 318690

Thank you to our contributors this month. We love to hear from you – want to reply? Want to share something that’s struck you, or tell us about something you’re involved with? Articles for the next edition of the Informer (available 5th April) are very welcome – 500 words or less. Please forward them to Rachel Abbey - hard copy deadline Mon 30th March, electronic copy Tuesday 31st March to rachel.abbey@ntlworld.com.

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