The Quarterly Newsletter of Christ Church, Warwick, Bermuda

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

Ordination of New Elders Sunday November 4th, 2018

A Joyful Day for our congregation (excerpts from the service)

There are different gifts, but it is the same spirit who gives them. There are different ways of serving God, but it is the same Lord who is served. God works through different people in different ways but it is the same God who achieves his purpose through them all. Each one is given a gift by the Spirit, to use it for the common good. Those who are chosen for the office of the eldership have the particular responsibility of caring for God’s people and exercising oversight and leadership.

Vows - “Do you believe the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith? Do you promise to seek the unity and peace of this Church? To uphold its doctrine, worship, government and discipline; and To take your due part in the administration of its affairs?” The Lord Bless you and enable you faithfully to keep these promises.

Alistair’s prayer: “Loving God, you have chosen for yourself a church in which your Holy Spirit inspires men and women to serve your purposes of love. We give you thanks that by your grace you have called Ashlea, Fiona, Bruce and Arthur, these your servants, to lead and care for your people as elders in your church. We commend them to you now as we ordain and admit them to the Office of Eldership. Grant them the gift of your Holy Spirit, that their hearts may be set on fire with love for you and those committed to their care. Make them pure in heart as those who have the mind of Christ. Give them vision to discern your purpose for the Church and for the world you love. Keep them faithful to the end in all their service. To You - Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be glory forever. Amen”

Newly ordained elders: (from left) Arthur Wightman, Fiona Kelly, Ashela Boyd, Bruce Sinclair

Pictured below: Jill Davidson, who will also soon be

ordained as an Elder at Christ Church.

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The Manse 17th November 2018 Dear Friends Last Saturday I was privileged to participate in a Pre-Remembrance Day Service at the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity in a commemoration of the 100th year since the ending of the First World War. The service included the Re-dedication of the Warrior Chapel Window, Bermuda’s National Memorial honouring the men of this island who gave their lives in what became known as the Great War for Civilisation.

In the United Kingdom the anniversary was observed by many and in many ways. I was interested to hear from my sister that in St. Michael’s, Linlithgow, a pre-Reformation church of cathedral proportions where I began my ministry as the assistant, there was standing room only. In addition to church services throughout the land the anniversary was observed in creative ways – on beaches, and as occurred here in Bermuda, the ringing of church bells and the lighting of beacons. It was clear that a great deal of thought and effort had been put into the marking of the anniversary. It would be a terrible pity if that energy now disappeared when there still requires an overcoming of the divisions now being experienced at national and world levels. It seems a terrible irony, indeed sadness, to be witnessing the growth of nationalism at a time when we mark the end of a conflict which engaged so many countries worldwide, including Bermuda, where young men found themselves involved in a war which had in roots in an assassination in Sarajevo – a city of which many had probably never heard. The Armistice of 11th November 1918 was eventually followed by the Treaty of Versailles which tragically had within it the seeds which would result in the Second World War. After the Allied victory, the victors divided up the lands of their formal enemies. In the space of just seventeen months they created the borders of Yugoslavia and the most of the Middle East, and also in that timeframe the partition of Ireland. The years and decades since have witnessed the terrible consequences for the peoples of these lands. As we enter the season of Advent and prepare for the celebration of the birth of Christ, whose many titles include the “Prince of Peace,” we are surely challenged to reflect where we expend our time, resources and energies as individuals, a congregation and a society. As the prayer concluding the Act of Remembrance offers, “May we live as those who are not their own but who are bought with a price”. May for you all the Advent and Christmas season be a time of joy and celebration spent with family and friends or exchanging loving greetings with those elsewhere. May it also be a time of peace for ourselves and those whose dream is of peace in the midst of conflict. Yours sincerely, Alistair Bennett

DECEMBER

1st “Meal & Movie” - Home Alone - ALL WELCOME! 6:30 p.m. - Thorburn Hall 9:30 a.m. - Christmas Tree decorating in the church (need some strong men!) 2nd Sunday Worship Services at 8 a.m. & 11 a.m. Services

Salvation Army Gift Service at 11 a.m. Service 5:00 p.m. - Bereavement Service 9th Sunday Worship Services at 8 a.m. & 11 a.m. Services

Christmas Lunch (tentative) after 11 a.m. Service

15th CCY Dress Rehearsal for Nativity - 3 p.m. 16th Sunday Worship Services at 8 a.m. & 11 a.m. Services

CCY Nativity Programme “New Star” at 11 a.m. Service 23rd Sunday Worship Services at 8 a.m. & 11 a.m. Services

Christingle Sunday at ll a.m. Service - (CCY - all-age crafts) 24th Christmas Eve Family Service 6:00 p.m.

11:15 p.m. - Carol Singing

11:30 p.m. - Christmas Eve Watchnight Service

25th 10 a.m. Christmas Day Service

30th Sunday Worship Services at 8 a.m. & 11 a.m. Services (No CCY)

JANUARY

6th Sunday Worship Services at 8 a.m. & 11 a.m. Services CCY All- age programme 13th Sunday Worship Services at 8 a.m. & 11 a.m. Services CCY resumes

Church Calendar

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Lord, let this year be filled with the things that are truly good—with the comfort of warmth in our relationships, with the strength to help those who need our help and the humility and openness to accept help from others.

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Bruce Alexander Sinclair

I am married to Stefanie and we have 2 children, Gianna 10 and Ciaran 9. I hail from the heavenly Canadian little town of Nelson, British Columbia, and have been in Bermuda since August of 2002. I have been coming to Christ Church since Alan Garrity was minister in 2006. I enjoys spending time with my family especially when we are pursuing some kind of outdoor adventure. I am especially fond of hiking and skiing and any time spent in the mountains. Stefanie and I are looking forward to exploring Patagonia this Christmas holiday.

Jill Davidson

I was born in Canada, and arrived on the Island in 1998. I was raised in the United Church of Canada, with faith always an important component of my upbringing. After marrying into the local Davidson & Smith clans, I was also welcomed into the larger family of Christ Church, Warwick. As a pediatric Occupational Therapist, children & music inspire me, which quickly led to my involvement with CCY. I am married to Michael Davidson, and we have two children, Jonah and Gwendolyn, who are also active CCY members of Christ Church.

Ashlea Boyd

I was born in 1983 in Northern Ireland on a potato (now onion) farm as the eldest of five children. I attended Limavady Grammar School (where I met Richard, my future husband). We then went to University of Bath, England together. I earned a degree in International Management and French - none of which prepared me to "manage" three crazy kids! I have lived in Paris, where I worked in HR, and then in Brussels, where I worked lobbying the MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) on behalf of UK Farmers’ Unions. Richard and I moved to Bermuda in 2007 when he got his job at Orbis after completing his Masters degree in Chemical Engineering. We arrived in January, and swam in the sea on our first day in Bermuda! We got married later that year. I worked doing legal administration work for a couple of years, and then happily hung up my smart clothes for shorts and tee in 2009 to raise Alex (9), Caitlin (7) and Matthew (4) in sunny Bermuda!

Our New Elders

Arthur Wightman

I was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on March 28, 1976 and am the brother of three sibling sisters, Jane, Catherine and Anna. I went to school in Edinburgh and University in England and France. Sophie and I were married in 2004, by Reverend Dunsmore in London and then began our married life together in Bermuda. We are very fortunate to be blessed with a daughter, Fenella, born in 2007, and a son, Fergus, born in 2009. I am the senior partner at PwC and Sophie is a tutor with the Reading Clinic. I enjoy swimming and cycling and have a passion for cars from the 1960’s.

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Fiona Kelly

I am the daughter of a Bermudian father and English mother, Eugene and Sheila Mayor. My full name is Jennifer Fiona Kelly but I have been called Fiona since a young age. I grew up in Somerset along with my two older brothers. My backyard was what is now Hog Bay Level Park and what adventures we had! I was educated on the island until I went away to the US for college. With my degree in hand, I re-turned home to Bermuda and entered the working world. After 8 years of banking, I had a yearning to travel and moved to the London, UK to work and traveled when I could. In 2001, having enough of city life, I returned home to the blue waters and pink sand of Bermuda and fortunately quickly managed to secure a position at Orbis Investment Management Limited. I met my husband Guy within a month of my re-turning to Bermuda after being introduced by mutual friends. Guy was the one who introduced me to Christ Church where he was already an Elder. We were married in

June 2004 at Christ Church and I was confirmed in December 2004 at Christ Church. Things happened rather quickly after that, I gave up my job at Orbis to become a stay at home mom to our two girls, Erin (13 years) and Robyn (11 years) who keep me busy! I am still connected to Orbis as Guy joined the company a year after I left. I am a member of the Nurture Team and I also am a co-CCY Teacher with Guy.

Our New Kirk Session Structure

Kirk Session Reorganization Doug Frith, Session Clerk

In the last newsletter we reported that the way in which the Kirk Session operated was to be significantly altered. Most notably, elders, while ordained for life, would only serve a three year term on the Kirk Session with the possibility of remaining for a second three year term. When elders are appointed they will be in a designated ‘Class’ indicating the year their term will finish. So elders in Class 2020 will finish their service on the Kirk Session in 2020.

The following are the elders who have been appointed initially to serve on the Kirk Session. In this first rotation some elders are being asked to serve less than 3 years as the 3 year rotation is established. Newly ordained elders are indicated in red:-

Class 2019 Class 2020 Class 2021 Mike Barany Ashlea Boyd Cindy Campbell Vivlyn Cooper Martha Kirkland Jill Davidson Duncan Dawson Bob Richards Doug Frith Stephen Kempe David Thompson Fiona Kelly Pauline Richards Arthur Wightman Bruce Sinclair

In September next year Class 2019 will drop off the list and Class 2022 will be added.

Our anticipation is that the new Kirk Session will be very proactive in leading most aspects of church life and we sincerely hope we can see the church rejuvenate during the next couple of years.

It is with great pleasure that we welcome our five new elders to the Kirk Session and we look forward to their perspective coming to the forefront.

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December Ben Grantier Max Grantier Beth Cartmill

Gunnar Nikolai

January Hunter Lavery

Brynn Kittleson Hunter Latham

Ethan Mello Billie Rose Kempe

February Joey Griffiths Caleb Mello Robyn Kelly

Gwen Davidson Jack Kyme

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IMPORTANT CCY DATES FOR CHRISTMAS! December 1 Meal & a Movie - ALL WELCOME!

December 2 Salvation Army Gift Service

December 9 Regular CCY

December 15 Dress rehearsal for Nativity - 3 p.m.

December16 Nativity Programme “New Star”.

December 23 All-age crafts: Christingle candles

December 24 Christmas Eve Family Service 6:00 p.m.

December 30 No CCY

January 6 CCY All- age programme

January 13 CCY resumes

CCY Nativity

“New Star” December 16th @ 11 a.m. Service

All CCY children invited to participate

in this years Christmas Nativity during the 11 a.m. service.

This year it will be a narrated tableau, with all children having a part with costumes.

Practice will be during CCY (11 a.m. service)

over the next 4 weeks leading up to the December 16th performance.

Dress rehearsal will be Saturday, December 15th at 3 p.m.. ALL participating children

must attend the dress rehearsal.

Contact any member of the CCY team if you would like your child involved.

CCY Mission - Malawi Scholarships A Christmas gift that keeps on giving!

We are grateful for the opportunity to reach out to local families at Christmas through the

Salvation Army Gift Service (December 2nd).

We are also encouraging CCY families to consider contributing to the Malawi Scholarship Fund organised through Bermuda Overseas Mission and administered

locally by Dr. Billy Bokosi. (See article p 10) A $50 contribution will supply school fees for a deserving

student in the village for a year, and a gift of $120 will cover both tuition, uniforms, shoes, books and school

supplies. We are asking for a 4 year commitment in or-der to enable the student to complete high school. Pho-

tos and regular reports will be sent by Dr. Bokosi. Please see any member of the CCY team, and we can

supply BOM bank acct details.

Christmas Fair THANK YOU Wet weather failed to deter the success of the Christmas Fair this year. Tents ensured all activities could continue…along with a CCY team to dry the Fun Castles! SANTA certainly was not deterred, and brought a very happy buzz to the Children’s area. The halls were rammed with accessories, art, baked goods, Christmas crafts, books as well as some great finds in the white elephant section. The Silent Auction attracted lots of attention with din-ners, adventures, paintings, gourmet and gift baskets up for bidding. Totals from this important fundraiser were not avail-able at the time of printing but all indications are that it was very successful in raising needed funds. Beyond the total was the willing spirit that prevailed in the lead up to the Fair and as well as on the actual day. We definitely had a few laughs, and camaraderie was in no short supply. The generosity, creativity, humour, and hard work of so many in the Congregation is what we truly celebrate. Thanks to all who made it such a success! Martha, Ann &, Anna Fair Convenors

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November 11th - Remembrance Day (Arrangement and words below by Vanessa Shorto)

The boots belonged to my father, major Stephen Grant-Kinghorn and he wore them when he served in the Middle East with the 8th Army under General Montgomery. At one point he ran an ammunition depot at the Hostel of the Resurrection in Jerusalem when it was used for military purposes!

He had always had a strong faith but his time in the Holy Land made his faith stronger even though it was during war time and all that involved.

On returning from the war he planned on training to become an Anglican priest but he met my mother who had been widowed and left with two small chil-dren so his life took another course. I still have his New Testament Greek study papers written in his beautiful handwriting.

Remembrance Day was always solemn in our household as we watched the service at the Ceno-taph on television and also watched the service of remembrance from the Albert Hall.

I was born only three years after the end of the war so the memories were still raw. I just hope that my daughter and those who come after will remember the price that was paid for the way we live today and I hope that they never have to experience such a thing again. I am not all that optimistic! My father said the next world war would begin in the Middle East when everyone else was talking about the Cold War and Russia.

Loads of Love The highlight of the year for our Loads of Love clients was Saturday, November 10th, as the West Indian Association came and cooked them all a cod fish breakfast. This is the second time the

WIA has very kindly cooked breakfast for us. We hope this will be an annual event. Thank you to all who participated.

More good news! The Bank of Bermuda Foundation has very generously donated $5,000 to Loads of Love, which will enable us to continue with this wonderful ministry for several more months.

Thank you to all of the above for your kindness and generosity. ~Pat Lang Convenor

Loads of Love team volunteers and members of the WIA. Chandra Persad (third from left) who organised and helped cook the breakfast.

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Report of Presbytery Meeting, Amsterdam, Netherlands Friday, 12th to Sunday, 14th October, 2018

Prepared by Douglas Frith, Presbytery Elder.

Introduction This was a regular semi-annual meeting of the International Presbytery and was attended by Alistair Bennett and Doug Frith from Christ Church. The host Church was the English Reformed Church of Amsterdam (http://www.ercadam.nl/) which is one of the larger congregations in the International Presbytery. The Local Congregation The church itself is set in a residential setting in downtown Amsterdam. The original building was built in 1390 as a private chapel but was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in the 1490s. It was given over to English Speaking worship in 1607 and has now been in continuous service for over 400 years. They have two pipe organs, one of which is an extremely im-pressive instrument, the Müller-Flentrop Organ. Originally built in 1753 it was extensively rebuilt, the rebuilding being completed in 2000. The congregation has for several years supported the Mulange Mission Hospital in Malawi. This is the same area or Malawi which Bermuda Overseas Mis-sions has been to twice and is planning a third visit this coming July. It is hoped some members of the Amsterdam congregation may also be able to participate in this trip. This would help create a connection between our congregations and also allow members of their congregation to see what their fundraising is supporting in the Mission Hospital. As is always the case, the local congregation were wonderful hosts. Presbytery Discussions and Congregational Points of Interest: A key point of discussion at this meeting was the ‘Presbytery Plan’ and the statistics across the Church of Scotland. Fun-damentally the trends are towards lower church attendance, lower income and a significant shortfall in ministers – antici-pated to be 300 ministers short in the next 5 years. The Presbytery Plan, amongst other things, determines the number of charges and number of ministers in each Presbytery. Currently the International Presbytery plan has 12.5 ‘charges’ (effectively 12.5 congregations eligible to have a minister). As the plan stands, by 2023 the International Presbytery may only be allocated 6 ministers to cover these charges. Although as presbytery we see the significant reduction in minister allocation as totally unworkable it reflects a harsh real-ity that there are insufficient ministers to have one minister for each congregation within the Church of Scotland. Presbyteries and Kirk Sessions have an opportunity to be creative and provide input to a very challenging problem. Amongst the congregations within the International Presbytery two new vacancies have or are about to arise. Rev Ian McDonald has left Lusanne to return to Scotland and similarly Rev Andrew Gardner is leaving Brussels to return to the UK with his family. There is significant concern that Brexit may make the filling of these vacancies challenging. Finally a further significant concern within the church and by extension Presbytery and Kirk Sessions is data protection and regulations the Church of Scotland must adhere to. This is outside the scope of this brief report but if anyone wishes to know more about this please contact me. The next presbytery meeting is scheduled to be held in Paris in March next year.

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Bermuda Overseas Missions / Outreach Update on Malawi scholarship Programme

Our programme to provide eligible children from Magreta and Muhiyo villages with a high school education commenced in September 2018. I am delighted to report that we have now 60 children enrolled in High School and have just finished paying school fees, purchasing uni-forms, shoes, books, backpacks and pens. Sounds expensive? Well how about $9,000 total

for everything to cover the first term. With a bit of luck the uniforms and shoes will last for a period of 2 years.

I am also delighted to report that we now have more girls than boys enrolled and proud that these children will be the future for these villages with an education.

The next event will be the January 2019 school fees and books for the sec-ond term which will be approximately $2,100 as we have already purchased the uniforms and shoes etc.

We thank all our sponsors who have committed to us to help fund the edu-cation costs for these children. Also, a huge thank you to Dr. Billy Bokosi who made this happen and watched over the funds and signups. Billy, as you recall, was the medical student we supported to finish his education and become a licensed doctor.

Now that we have started this programme, the commitment will last at least 4 years to complete high school. We have formed a scholarship committee and will introduce our committee members to you shortly. They will have the responsibility of oversight on the programme and share with you updates on a regular basis.

Meanwhile I wanted to share some recent pictures and let you know that BOM is excited to announce it will be visiting Malawi again in 2019 to con-struct homes in the Mulanje area and visit these villages.

Have a wonderful Christmas celebration with your families. David Thompson President, Bermuda Overseas Missions

Above: Billy transporting shoes, uniforms, books and bags

to the schools. Below: Billy and many of the students

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Christ Church, Warwick - Contacts

Minister Alistair Bennett 236-0400 alistair.g.bennett@gmail.com Church Administrator Liz Parker 236-1882 christchurch@logic.bm Session Clerk Doug Frith 236-2515 dougfrith@belco.bm Choir Director Organist Oliver Grant 296-5100 olivergrant@musicschool.bm

Ministry Teams & Leaders

Worship Ministry Communications Ministry Congregational Board Duncan Dawson 236-3648 duncan@logic.bm Outreach Ministry David Thompson 293-5319 david@ams.bm (705-4600) Nurture Ministry Martha Kirkland 236-0383 marthak@logic.bm Care Ministry Fellowship Ministry Liz Parker 238-0784 christchurch@logic.bm Loads of Love Pat Lang 236-0915 cloud9@northrock.bm

Scenes from the Fair….

Newsletter Team: Greg Smith (Editor); Mary Ellen Ewles (Production); Roger Oldfield (Printing); Tina Stovell (Distribution);

CHRIST CHURCH WARWICK PO Box WK130 Warwick, WKBX Bermuda Phone: 236-0400 E-mail: Christchurch@logic.bm