St James's Church Centre(United Reformed)

Pottergate, AlnwickNorthumberland, NE66 1JW

(: 01665 510364

Minister:Reverend Joan Grindrod-Helmn

Our web-site:http://www.urc-stjames-alnwick.org.uk

Our Church Services

These are usually at 10.30 a.m. and 6.00p.m. unless otherwise indicated

Our Communion Services are held atboth services on the first Sunday in:-February, June, August, October and

Decemberand also on Easter Sunday

Do you have any interesting articles to gointo the next edition of your Pottergate

News such as forthcoming events,memories, reports of activities ?

Remember the next deadline isSunday, 17th April

for distribution on 24th April.

April 2011. Issue number 134

Our Minister's Letter

Dear Friends

I have always heard that people in the north are more friendly than people in the south. Do you think that's true? In many ways we are less outgoing than we used to be, society haschanged and we are more private and perhaps even insecurewith people we don't know well. I still see remnants of daysgone by; folks saying hello as you pass, looking out for theneighbours, hanging over the gate, watching the world passby. It's good to see a smile and have a hello, isn't it?

How do we rate when it comes to church, though? Are we afriendly bunch? There is a big difference between beingfriendly with people we know and the stranger. What sort ofimpression do we make to someone who has never been toSt. James's before? Would they want to come back again orwould they put us into the category of a nice "club" for thecosy friends who go there?

Easter is a special time in the church, a time of rebirth andcelebration. A time when we give thanks for the great gift we have been given in Christ and how our mission is to serve allGod's people. There are many folks out there who aresearching for God and searching for a spiritual home. ThisEaster season, let us think about the visitors who may comeinto our church. They have been very brave to walk into astrange place, how will they be welcomed? For the most part we are northerners. Let's live up to our reputation!

the minister is on holiday from the 25th March -2nd April

Church-related News

Elders Exploration Day, 26th February 2011

This interestingand usefulsession was setup by Synod as part of theirtraininginitiative acrossthe region. 12of us, from allover the NorthEast met atCromer Avenue URC atGateshead totake part in adiscussion ledby Rev.Alasdair Pratt

and Rev Dr David Whiting.

The aim of the session was to support people currently called as new eldersand people who might be contemplating becoming an elder. In reality, wewere a mixed bag as there were a few there who had been elders for manyyears.

In the 2 hours we explored two aspects of eldership, 'Leadership' and'Pastoral Care'.

Using topic headings for Leadership like

• How do your elders meeting work - How effective is it as a team • In what ways do/can/might elders give leadership

Or for Pastoral care

• Is the idea of home visiting outdated?• Is Pastoral care effective in your church

Our elders are, of course, as serious as these elders fromMaybole, Scotland?

In mixed groups, we discussed our understanding of our own situations andthen further discussed these as part of the larger group. where the input fromexperienced Elders was beneficial.

We all en joyed the morn ing and learnt from each other and, should you get the op -por tu nity to take part in an other ses sion, I would rec om mend it.

Liz Spence

St James's Spring Fair 2011

Once again a very big thank you toeverybody who helped in any way at all to make our March Spring Fair a success. We took approximately £950 includingdonations; a wonderful result. The totalwas down compared to other years as wedid not do lunches, but since over 80% ofthese are bought by our members the finalresult is much the same. Good weatherand our usual excellent local supporthelped even though the numbers of people in the Market Place were low. Having thesmell of freshly baked scones as youentered the Hall was good and they soon

sold out. All the stalls did well and asusual the cake stall quickly emptied.Thanks also to a busy kitchen team who kept the front of house runningefficiently.

We are very grateful for the willingnesspeople showed as they worked, bought, donated, and baked beforehand for thebenefit of St James'. Congratulations to all involved and many, many thanks.Your hard work was much appreciated.

Margaret, Grace and Maureen

Are they talking about us?

Are they talking about us?

Zimbabwe - Strong Women

In a country dominated by the politics of men Zimbabwe's women hardlyever make the headlines, but they are usually the first to suffer when thingsgo wrong and they are the ones who keep the family and society going often at great personal sacrifice.

Here is a representative voices among the many:-

The first is Jingekile Mthimkulu whosehusband was killed in 1983 leaving herwith eight children to bring up, "On theday my husband died, I could also havedied but the Lord saved me to bring up my children. I buried my husband whowas a head teacher. He was shotbecause he was wrongly accused ofhelping "guerrillas'. I left with the children and went to stay in Bulawayo for tenyears. After that we returned to ourvillage.

Life was hard. I earned very little butevery day my children went to bed withfood in their stomaches and the oldest

three managed to get schooling because I was allowed to pay for it overmany months. I never went to collect my widow's pension. The leaderswho caused my husband's death are now in charge of the fund and I will not go.

Those who say there is no God when something bad happens have littlefaith to begin with. If you trust God, he says, "Bring all your troubles and Iwill carry them for you." I pray every day that God will take all my troubles.

(This is an edited version from "Inside Out", the Council for World Missionmagazine.)

Please continue with your monthly contributions to "Commitment for Life" to help women like Jingekile.

Commitment for Life

The amount collected in March was £ 72.50 - Thanks to all who contributed. The next collection will be on Sunday 1st May.

Lenten Lunch

Thanks to all helped at the Lenten Lunch on Thursday 17th March. Thanksalso to those who donated money or gave cheese and butter and those whomade soup for the occasion. The total banked was £173.50 which goes toChristian Aid, Cafod and Spitak.

A reminder about Easter Services

Holy Week services begin withPalm Sunday on the 17th April. On Maundy Thursday, 21st, St. James's is invited to attendthe Service of Tennebrae atWarkworth, 8 p.m. in their hall at the back of the church. OnFriday the 22nd the GoodFriday walk of witness meets inthe Greenwell Lane car park at11:30, leaving at 11:45. Anecumenical service will follow inthe Market Square at 12:00. Easter Sunday services will both

include communion. Bring your bells for the morning service!

The Sunday after Easter has traditionally been called "Low Sunday", but that has recently been changed, to be called "Bright Sunday" in many churches. You'll have to come to the service to find out what it's about!

The King James Bible - a Few PersonalObservations

We all know that 2011 is the 400th

anniversary of the publication of theKing James Bible. However, I, for one, have been unsure as to how Christians are celebrating it … and why!

Easy, I thought, a quick Google search on the Internet and all will be revealed. And how! Just searching for “KingJames Bible” provided over elevenmillion results (in just a quarter of asecond - that number and thetechnology behind calculating theresult just stuns me). Even narrowingdown to “400th Anniversary”still leftover 100,000 articles - quite clearlythere is much said about the KingJames Bible!

Dipping a toe in the information quickly showed that every part of Christiancommunity is represented and are of one mind in their appreciation of itshistorical significance.

In short, in 1603 James VI of Scotland acceded to the throne of England (asJames I of England. At the 1604 Hampton Court Conference King Jameswas persuaded by moderate puritans that a new translation of the Bible wasneeded and he ordered work to begin culminating in its publication in 1611as one of the first translations of the Gospels into English. In modernparlance the spread of the Bible soon became “viral”. The 17th CenturyPuritans believed that the Bible was inspired by God but feeling persecutedby the established church, a group of them, the Pilgrim Fathers, decided toleave England and set sail for America in the Mayflower, taking the EnglishBible with them. The ship is a symbol of early colonisation!

British sailors also took the Bible on voyages around the globe; through thework of the East India Company it was taken to India and to the colonies inAfrica, Australia and New Zealand and consequently became a cornerstone,

not only of our culture but also many others. This is one reason why Englishis now a world language.

Art, literature and music have all been based on language and stories fromthe Bible. It has arguably far more influence on the English language thanShakespeare or any other author. A common statement in all that I read isthat there are over 260 sayings from the Bible in daily use while there areonly 100 from Shakespeare! This translation transformed how Englishpeople spoke to each other, how we wrote our books and how we see ourGod. The translation of the Bible has had enormous consequences not justfor England but America and so many other parts of the world and this isstill significant today.

However there is also currentcontroversy around the King JamesBible, most centred round itspowerful use of English. On the onehand there are those that suggestthat the power of the message lies inthe poetry and use of English andthat the alternative, more moderntranslations are bland and insipid incomparison. On the other handthere are those that suggest that thisvery language gets in the way of themessage. Both parties can be veryheated in their argument and, in some cases, very extreme - one site I visited (briefly) talked about blasphemy in using any other translation!

One site used the baptism of Jesus (Matthew: 3, 13-17) as a comparison.The King James Version has the following lines in it:

“And Jesus, when he was baptised, went up straightway out of thewater: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw theSpirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

While the Jerusalem Bible states:

“As soon as Jesus was baptised he came up from the water, andsuddenly the heavens opened and he saw the spirit of God

£2 coin to be minted for the Anniversary

descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice spoke fromheaven, “This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.”

Which do you prefer?

Celebrations of the 400th Anniversary occur all year long and areworld-wide. They extend from readings, readathons(!), through conferencesand music to radio and televison programmes. Locally, this last weekendthere was a reading by candlelight in the Hartburn Grotto, another by David Webb here Alnwick while an original copy of the King James Bible was used for readings in Berwick. A concert that fused music and the words of thebible has taken place in Durham. Further afield there are conferences withsuch titles as “Can These Bones Live? - Reading the Bible Today” and aplay by David Edgar about the making of the King James Bible, “Written onthe Heart” is planned for the Autumn at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre atStratford - take your pick, there is and will be so much.

Were those searches on the Internet worth-while? Yes, most certainly, Iappreciate, at least vaguely, the significance of the King James Bible and ithas answered how the anniversary is being covered. If you have access tothe Internet I would recommend that you look at the following site as a place to start if you have any interest in following the King James Bible story:

Http://www.kingjamesbibletrust.org/

John Spence

Some Thoughts

As we think about the impression we make to visitors, here are a few ideason how we can all help.

• If a visitor is sitting in your usual seat, don't ask them to move.• If you see a visitor who is alone, why not sit with them?• If you spot a visitor, take a minute to speak to them before you speak to

your friends.• Could you offer directions to coffee or even better invite the guest to come

with you?• Introduce them to someone else who can chat with them as well.

Ceilidh Supper DanceIn aid of St James' Church Centre

OnSaturday April 9th

InSt Paul's School Hall, South Road

7.00pm for 7.30pm - 11.00pm

Tickets to include a finger buffetsupper: Adults£10, under 16's

£5

Please bring your own drink (and

glasses)

Any contributions towards the supper such as cakes, cookies, tray-bakes, etcwill be gratefully received. Offers of help on the evening itself either earlyfrom 6.00pm or later clearing up after supper (9.00) and at the end would

also be much appreciated. Thank you very much.

N. B. As there is a very nice wooden floor we have been asked that ladies do not wear stiletto heels.

Tickets available from Scotts of Alnwick, Aileen White, Liz Spence andMaureen Fortune.

Dancing to therenowned

Scottish CeilidhBand Chapter

4No prior

knowledgeneeded as therewill be a caller

St. James's Church CentrePottergate

Carpet Bowling Club

COFFEE MORNINGIn

The Church Hall

OnSaturday 16th April

10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Admission £1

Cake Stall Raffle

Bring & Buy Stall

Men and Ladies Bowls Clubs

We are holding our Annual Dinner at the Sun, Warkworth, on 20th April, 6.30 p.m. for 7.00.

Thursday GroupRemember Our Domino Drive

Next Thursday 31st MarchSt James’s, 7:30 p.m.

£3 at the doorPooled Supper

All welcome

Do you remember …….

The televised service during tercentenary year 1989 during which John, sonof Susan and Alan Kingsnorth was baptised. Joan Hislop thought thefollowing snippet of information may be of interest to those who doremember the occasion.

Alan (formerly in RAF) and Susan live in High Wycombe. Their son Johnhas recently graduated from Anglia Ruskin College, Cambridge, with a firstin photography. He is now at St. John's College, Cambridge teachingstudents on photography and web-site development.

Theresa Heathorn

Church Walks

Wednesday 13th April : Seahouses

10.30 Meet at Tourist Information Centre in the centre of Seahouses.

1.45 Lunch at Bamburgh Castle Hotel

The walk goes around North Sunderland and back viathe Golf Course to the Harbour. Come and join us forthe walk, and great views, or just for lunch.

March Walk At Ford

We had arrived in Ford to snow on the ground, but fortunately it wasdisappearing fast. The 7 of us walked through part of the village, past theJubilee Hall (Queen Victoria's) and the Blacksmith's with it's distinctivehorseshoe shaped door frame, and beside some noisy geese we turned leftalong a marked track into woods. Clumps of snowdrops were here, but notmany other signs of spring. From Ford we walked along the edges of fields

past Hay Farm to the sawmill and farm above Etal village. Here a friendlyyoung labrador joined us, and would probably have stayed with us for quitea long time, but was eventually 'returned' to the farm by Madeline. Our walkcontinued uphill along a small road past Huntsman's Cottage and thekennels, then back to Hay Farm and to Ford. This walk gave us fabulousviews across to the Cheviots with the 3 distinctive tops of the Eildon Hillsfurther west. Lunch was at the Milfield pub - an excellent choice.

Other St James's Walks Planned For 2011

11th May Bluebells at Alnham 9th June Farm Walk at Huntinghall13th July College Valley14th September Morwick and Acklington12th October Rothbury and Thropton9th November Ros Castle14th December Boulmer

Thank You

Dear Friends,

Dorothy & family would like to thank everyone for their kind expressions ofcondolence on Dennis' death.

Our appreciation to the ladies for the excellent, efficient handling of'refreshments' and to the equally efficient stewards.

A big thank you to Dorothy Thompson for arranging the flowers; to EnidBrown for playing the organ [several people remarked to us on the lovelymusic prior to the service] and to Joan for her sensitivity and support at thissad time.

Dor o thy Robson

Maundy THURSDAY Lent Lunch

The Lent Lunch on Maundy Thursday, April 21st, is in aid of Save TheChildren - usual time, place and admission! There will be a cake andproduce stall, surprise parcels and a raffle.

Green Scene

The March/April Newsletter from Alnwick Friends of the Earth/TransitionAlnwick is now available in the blue folder at the back of the church.

The Bullfield - a new community orchard for Alnwick

A group within Alnwick Area Friends of the Earth have recently secured a 99 year lease to oversee a small community orchard development in Alnwick atthe Bullfield. There is a separate leaflet also in the blue folder which gives abit more information about the location and aims of the community orchard. It is hoped that tree planting on this site will commence during the first orsecond weekend in April depending on the weather. If anyone is interestedand would like to get involved please contact Rachael Roberts or SuePatience.

Ruth Sanderson

At Rest

March 4th Dennis Robson aged 78

Know that I am with you always: yes, even to the end of time. Matthew 28: 20

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends

Thanks

"I would like to thank all my friends at St. James's for their Best Wishes,cards, flowers etc. and for all their visits after my operation. They are muchappreciated."

Helen McFall

Northern Synod and URC News and ActivitiesApril 2011

Synod Office

4 College Lane, Newcastle NE1 8JJ(: 0191 232 1168

*: office@urc-northernsynod.orghttp://www.urc-northernsynod.org/

Some Snippets from the Last Synod Meeting

Zero Intolerance

These are words we can expect to see alot of come thistime next year. JoMerrygold, ourMission &DevelopmentEnabler, led synodthrough apresentation of thestory behind whatwas originally to bea marketing andidentity campaign.“God is stillspeaking” was such

Rev. Da vid Her bert af ter lead ing last Sunday’s ser vice at St. James’s where he re ferred to the cam paign ad dressed onthis page. (© Sheila Hignett)

a success for the United Church of Christ in the USA that at one point it washoped that we could use the material ourselves. But copyright problems ledus eventually in another direction; and what we are now preparing for is acampaign that is much more than a marketing exercise, and one that isspecifically made for our own situation, and with an ecumenical scope.

In the coming months churches are going to be encouraged to think ofsigning up for the campaign themselves. They will then be offered resourcesand training in order to be ready to become ZI Churches when thecampaign goes national in January 2012.

Wanted—LMMR Pilot!

Jo Merrygold also outlined plans for the introduction of LMMRs— LocalMission & Ministry Reviews. Joan Grindrod Helmn will be acting assecretary, and will be approaching churches with details of the process onceup and running, hopefully from March 2012. In the meantime, a pilotproject of six churches is being planned between now and the end of theyear, and mission partnerships are being approached to find at least one“unique person” to serve as a partner to the church being reviewed.Volunteers— please contact Jo!

Westminster College launches its £7 million appeal

At the end of February Westminster College in Cambridge, launched its£7,000,000 buildings appeal. The money is needed to fund its ambitiousproject to re-develop and re-equip the College for the next stage in its life.

The college principal, said: “Westminster has a new vocation – as aresource centre for learning within the United Reformed Church. We’replanning for the college to be a place for learning, prayer and hospitality forall URC people, and a centre which resources church congregations of this,and other, denominations. Our vision is to make Westminster a shiningexample of the church’s ability to renew its life in faithfulness to God.”

The total cost of this work will be £7,000,000 and, in order for buildingworks to begin in July 2012, the college needs to have these funds in place,or pledged by, December 2011. For further information about the projectand ways that you can help, please contact the campaign secretary atcampaign@westminster.cam.ac.uk or call 01223 742371

Rotas and Diary for April 2011

Flower Rota

Con tact Mar ga ret Wilkinson if you wish to change a date or fill a va cancy. If youwould like to take your flow ers af ter the Sunday ser vices you are wel come to, oth er -wise they will be left in the church build ing to pro vide dec o ra tion dur ing the week.

April

3 rd Dorothy Wilson

10 th Grace Toward

17 th Sheila Egdell

24 th EASTER

May1st Vacancy

Duty Stewards

Vestibule Vestry Door Duties

April

3rd a.m. M Fortune A White M Cooke, W & A St. Clair

p.m. K Hetherington V Ions, D & H Crosier

10th a.m. M Wilkinson D Wilkinson Reay, D & J Thompson

p.m. S Baker E Burn, S & A Green

17th a.m. J Richardson S Egdell P Richardson, H Forster, M Laidler

p.m. J Barr R & R Sanderson, D Gove

24th a.m. M Russell R Jones I Thomas, T & J Heathorn

p.m. J Purvis K Walker, L & B Newbegin

May

1st a.m. L Spence G Pollard A Manners, A Graham, S Johnston

p.m. K Hetherington V Ions, D & H Crosier

Coffee Rota

April3 rd Dor o thy & Jim Thomp son, Maureen Reay10 th Grace Pol lard, Sheila Hignett, Sheila Johnston17 th Mar ga ret & Da vid Wilkinson, Dor o thy Robson24 th Aileen White, Joyce Spencer, Liz Spence

May1st Carol Ser geant, Mar ga ret Mabon, Valerie Colgan

Thank you to all who help on the cof fee rota and also those who fill in.

Readers

A.M. P.M.

April3rd Junior Church Alan & Sheila Green

10 th Liz Spence Sandra Baker

17 th TBC Bill & Lucy Newbegin

24 th TBC Eileen Burn

May1st TBC Monty Helmn

Diary

LB - Ladies Indoor Bowls Club, MB - Mens Indoor Bowls Club, TG -Thursday Group. PS - pooled supper!

AprilSun 3rd 10:30 a.m. Mothering Sunday, All Age Morning Service

11:30 a.m. Fairtrade Stall6:00 p.m. Evening service

Mon 4th 7:00 p.m. MB - Club nightTue 5th 1:30 p.m. LB - Sheila Egdell Cup 7th Round

7:00 p.m. MB - Rob Guthrie Cup 7th Round7:30 p.m. Policies Group7:30 p.m. Faith in Life meeting

Thu 7th 12:00 p.m. Lent Lunch, Costello centre7:30 p.m. TG - Beryl Parr: Addis Abbaba

- A Story of HopeSat 9th 7:00 p.m. Ceilidh at St. Paul's SchoolSun 10th 10:30 a.m. Morning Service led by Brian Friend

6:00 p.m. Evening serviceMon 11th 7:00 p.m. MB - Club nightTue 12th 1:30 p.m. LB - Club afternoon - League, Pairs

& Crosier Cup7:00 p.m. MB - Home to Rennington (PS)

Wed 13th 10:30 a.m. Church Walk, Seahouses7:30 p.m. Church AGM

Thu 14th 12:00 p.m. Lent Lunch, Costello Centre7:30 p.m. TG - AGM7:30 p.m. Finance and Property meeting7:30 p.m. Mission Partnership leaders

Sat 16th 10:00 - 12:00 Bowls Club Coffee MorningSun 17th 10:30 a.m. Palm Sunday Morning Service

6:00 p.m. Evening ServiceMon 18th 7:00 p.m. MB - Rinks Competition 7th RoundTue 19th 1:30 p.m. LB - Club afternoon

7:00 p.m. MB - Club NightWed 20th 6:30 p.m. Men and Ladies Bowls dinner, Sun InnThu 21st 12:00 p.m. Maundy Thursday Save the Children lunch,

8:00 p.m. Maundy Thursday service, Warkworth URCFri 22nd 11:45 a.m. Good Friday Walk of Witness and ServiceSun 24th 10:30 a.m. EASTER DAY morning communion service

6:00 p.m. Evening communion serviceThu 28th TG - Annual Dinner

MaySun 1st 10:30 a.m. Bright Sunday All Age Service

11:30 a.m. Fairtrade Stall6:00 p.m. Bright Sunday evening service

Mon 2nd 2:00 -4 p.m. May Day teas, WarkworthWed 4th 7:30 p.m. Junior Church leaders meetingSat 7th 10:00 - 4:00 Elders Day

Who Is Who at St James's

Church SecretaryVacant

*: secretary@urc-stjames-alnwick.org.uk

Church TreasurerMrs Jean Barr

Church Centre AdministratorMrs Liz Spence

*:church.centre@urc-stjames-alnwick.org.uk

Gift Aid & Planned GivingJulian Richardson

Free-Will Giving EnvelopesMrs Aileen White

Junior ChurchMrs Sandra Baker

Flower RotaMrs Margaret Wilkinson

Morning Readers RotaMrs Dorothy Robson

Evening Readers RotaMrs Janet Purvis

Synod RepresentativeMadeline Russell

OrganistsMrs Enid BrownMr Paul Toward

The Men's Indoor Bowling ClubMr Henry Crosier

Ladies' Indoor Bowling ClubMiss Hazel Forster

Thursday GroupMrs Gertrude Jones

Brownies & GuidesMiss Madeline Russell

Events co-ordinatorMrs Pauline Richardson

Christians Together In AlnwickMiss Hazel Forster

Mrs Doreen Crosier

EditorMr John Spence

*: webmaster@urc-stjames-alnwick.org.uk