Methodist Church News 2007
Regular Services:
Sunday worship is at 10.30 a.m.
Sunday school at 10 00 a.m. For details please contact Mrs. Beryl House, tel. 813516
Ladies' Meeting on Wednesdays at 2.30 p.m.
"Oasis" a midweek informal meeting for meditation, discussion and fellowship (creche available if needed) on the second Wednesday of the month at 10.30 a.m.
All are welcome at any of these activities.
The schoolroom is widely used by the community, and if anybody wishes to book it for an event such as a children's party, contact Jane Millward tel. 813015.
Winter 2007 News
Chapel News
We have completed the work on the chapel building with fresh paint inside and out, and new carpeting in the areas left bare when some of the pews were removed to make the damp-proofing possible. We now have a space which is more flexible for small meetings or groups, but there are still pews for people who prefer them. Eventually, we expect to install some comfortable stacking chairs, which have some advantages over the fixed pews. It has been a long job, and we thank all those people who have helped with gifts of time or money.
We managed to fill and dispatch two Aquaboxes at the end of October, and between now and Christmas we intend to lend a helping hand to the local Y.M.C.A.with gifts of non-perishable food and Christian Aid with our customary Advent collection.
On December 9th. we will hold a carol service which we hope will be supported by some of the uniformed organisations in the village, and will be conducted by Rev. Peter Howard.
On Christmas Eve there will be a Communion service at Stretton Methodist Church at 7pm and on Christmas Day a choice of worship at St. Thomas' at 10 a.m. or at Stretton at 11am.
Rolleston Choral Society will present a programme of Christmas music and readings in the chapel on Wednesday 19th. December, to be followed by refreshments in the schoolroom. Watch for publicity, and come along to join many friends from the village who come along to start the festive season together.
Minister’s Message
Dear Rollestonians,
On behalf of Rolleston Methodist Church I send you our greetings for Christmas (when it comes) and the New Year.
Some of us, myself included, do not like to think about Christmas too soon, but I have been remembering the excitement of Christmas morning as my brother and I opened presents.
We were so interested in the gift that we did not notice who it was from.
Sometimes, very young children will ignore the gift, which may be expensive, and play for hours with the box it came in. Its amazing what imagination can make of an empty box.
Our approach to Christmas is sometimes the same. We get very excited about all the outward show, and don't notice the present that we have been given.
All Christians in Rolleston would wish for all of us that this Christmas we will discover, or rediscover, that God has come among us in Jesus Christ. When we ask Him to share our lives, then we can have the substance of Christmas all the year round.
We pray God's blessing on our community for Christmas and through the New Year.
Peter Howard
Autumn 2007 News
New Burton upon Trent Circuit arrangements
Rev. Mick Dilley, who previously had charge of Rolleston Methodist Church, moved to another Circuit in August 2007, and at present he will not be replaced. Under the Methodist system, the care of the village will be shared by the existing staff of the Burton on Trent Circuit, including a new lay worker.
We have –
Rev. Peter Howard of 11, Swannington Street. Tel. 564439
Rev. Julie Coates, of 107, Ashby Road. Tel.568512
Deacon Anne Howard, of 11, Swannington Street. Tel. 564439
Peter Howard will provide pastoral care. Services will be conducted by either the Local Preachers or the above ministers, with extra help from other ministers in the administration of Holy Communion. If you need a minister, please contact one of those listed above, who will all be glad to help you.
A Farewell Message from Mick Dilley - Goodbye and Thanks
By the time you read this article Jeanette and I will have left the area to take up work elsewhere. This has been my first placement as a Minister and we have found it both a nice place to be and a rewarding place to exercise our ministry.
Like any job it is not without its frustrations, the main one for us that of being in charge of four Churches which resulted in not really being able to get to know too many folk outside of the Church.
However it has been good to be involved with the school taking assemblies, and also the last two years with the Holiday Club. Rev Ian was one of the first callers at our door when we moved in (we were out) but we have enjoyed friendship with him, as well as taking part in the joint carol services.
So we would just like to say thanks for the welcome we received and the encouragements given along the way. We pray God’s continued Blessing upon the village
God Bless
Mick and Jeanette Dilley
A Message from the New Minister
Dear Rollestonians,
The news over the last weeks has been dominated by the floods in various parts of the country. I have never been flooded out, but I guess some of you will know what it is like. I can scarcely imagine the disruption and the upheaval.
Many of the news reports have focussed on the loss of belongings, and damage to homes. It is a fact of modern life that we assume that a person's life consists in his or her belongings, and the commentators have spoken of lives being ruined by the loss of possessions.
Some of the images have been moving, like the woman, returning to her home, holding her wedding photograph and a Mother's Day card made by her daughter. We would think them of little value but to her they were precious.
On a more sombre note, several people have lost their lives in the floods, like the man whose foot was trapped in a grating in Hull. Perhaps disasters help us reassess our priorities. However valuable our possessions are to us, however large a part they play in life, there are things that are more precious like love, and life itself.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Howard,
Methodist Superintendent Minister, and from 20th August, Minister at Rolleston.
Church News
Refurbishment of the building is progressing.
We expect that redecoration and carpeting in the chapel itself will have been completed during the summer. If you visit for refreshments on the Heritage Trail during the weekend of 15th.-16th. September you will be able to see the alterations, as well as the Harvest display and also a display of historical material.
The Harvest Festival service will be at 10.30a.m. on 16th. September, and the service will be conducted by our guest preacher, Mr. Phil Royle, from Derby. Harvest gifts will be distributed next day to village residents who are ill or in any kind of need.
Summer 2007 News
Refurbishment
The first (very dirty) phase of our building work has almost been completed as I write. Thank you to those who were patient, though inconvenienced in any way by this. Minor decorations will take place as soon as possible, and major decoration during the summer holidays, we expect. The building now complies with fire precaution requirements, as well as having disabled access and toilet facilities, a hearing loop system in the chapel and two discreet loudspeakers for ordinary use.
The completion of all our plans for refurbishment (carpeting, comfortable chairs etc.) will depend on how soon we can gather enough money.
Departure
You may have heard that Mick Dilley is being relocated to a circuit that needs ministerial staff more than ours is supposed to do. This came as a great shock to everybody as it was totally unexpected. He and his wife Jeanette are much loved in the area, and Mick has worked extremely hard to minister to his four churches and their neighbouring schools. He will be much missed. Those he visits and cheers with sympathy or laughter, those he teaches and shares his burning faith with, will think of him often with gratitude. He moves in August, after the village Holiday Club of course! Watch out for details of opportunities to wish him well as he goes on his way.
Musings from the Methodist Manse
The e-mail from the editor arrived on the 24th of April, no need to worry thinks I, that’s ages away, No inspiration however, that is until yesterday, when I passed the sign post by the school which is in the process of being renovated.
Tomorrow we are visiting somewhere new, so earlier on I’ve been feeding the details into the computer to get a map and directions of the route we need to take. In theory it’s so easy. A conversation I had with a member of one of my churches left me amazed. She worked in London during the war years but her home was in Bristol. She said that any time she had leave, or an extended weekend, she would cycle home. The journey took ten hours. When you think that, because of the war, there were no sign posts I, as one who finds it easy to get lost, am just so full of admiration.
As I thought about sign posts my mind went to the people who have been just that in my life. People who have shaped and led me to the person I am today. I recall Peter who on my first day a work counselled me never to lose my self respect - not so sure what he meant back then, but his words have stuck and I have acted on then over the years. There was another ex-army man who quite rightly challenged me about my appearance for which I have been forever grateful, and many more beside.
On visiting a friend last week who had been suddenly taken ill, I saw another sign post. The lady recalled all the cards and phone calls and flowers she had received, some from people she hardly knew The sign was to me, who sometimes quite wrongly despairs of our world, that there is still an enormous amount of goodness and kindness in the world.
But, listening to the news of late and even today, with the recent news of women encouraging toddlers to fight and a twelve year old shot dead in Manchester acts as a sign post that in our nation, as well as in the wider world, there is an awful lot of evil. What with ongoing wars, children still dying of very preventable diseases, and as we have heard recently, more people in some form of slavery today than at the height of the slave trade.
Which brings me to another sign post, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. A sign that displays the depths to which we humans can sink. A sign of the depth of God’s love for each one of us. A sign that even the darkest deeds can not extinguish the love of God, and an invitation to let this God direct our lives in the way we and the whole of humankind should live. Not following some religion, but in a life giving relationship with one who does not give us a print-out of directions or points the way but one who at our invititation walks the way with us. The best sat-nav ever. I know, try it yourself.
God Bless,
Mick
Spring 2007 News
Church and Schoolroom Repairs
There are always difficulties with the maintenance of an old building, and this spring we are tackling the problem of damp. Around Easter, the church and schoolroom will be out of use as all cupboards and pews on the outside walls will be emptied and moved away from the walls, the old plaster will be scraped off to above waist height and new, damp proof plaster will be put in its place. When this has dried, everything can be put back, and eventually the place can be cleaned and redecorated.
The whole process will take about three weeks, plus redecorating time, and there should not be further trouble resulting from damp in the foreseeable future. Regular users will be able to resume use of the schoolroom and chapel after the initial three weeks, if all goes according to plan, though redecorating will take place at a future date. We have tried to cause as little disruption as possible by timing the work for the school holiday, and we thank you for your understanding and patience.
Musings from the Methodist Manse
I do not like going to the doctor’s at the best of times, even less so now they have introduced a push button system to book yourself in. What is happening to the human touch? As you may gather I do not like technology.
It has been quite encouraging however to discover the car radio has tuned itself in somehow to Radio Four. Not only have I, in a few days of listening, been able to catch up on the Archers, but there are some very informative programs. On one of my trips to visit a member of our Church in a Derby hospital a program on infant memory was being broadcast, it was fascinating. Some people seem to have very vivid recollections of events even before they could speak. This was dismissed by the studio expert, but a really interesting subject.
I dare say we all have our own memories, of what we were doing or who we were with, on the days which have shaken history. As well as in those personal moments, of joy or sadness, the places, the people we were with, etched on our memories.
I have been privileged on three occasions to have had the pick of deceased colleagues’ libraries, discovering some real gems. One which I am reading at the moment is entitled "They met at Calvary". Through the first seven chapters it goes through the groups of people and individuals who interacted with Jesus in the hours leading up to His death and at His Crucifixion. The final chapter has the heading "I was there too"
If I were to now ask you - “what were you doing on the day of that world changing event?”- you may look at me with a sympathetic look, as you think, ”well, that confirms my worst fears about these Christians, they really have lost the plot”. But the bible contends that it was God's love for the world that led Jesus to offer himself as a willing sacrifice for all the wrongs, things (sins) we have committed. All sorts of theories surround the Cross. However like the life of Jesus there are enough historical sources outside of the bible to prove the Crucifixion happened. But it will only prove of any use to us and the rest of humanity if we dare acknowledge we were there too.
Going there we come face to face with the devastating effects of sin (effects we see in our world daily) It is only as we go there we will see the meaning of true love and not the distorted caricature we see portrayed in our society. To those who go there and accept all that has been done for them it is a day an experience that will last for good in this life and the next.
My challenge this spring time - look closely at the events of Easter. I'm sure Ian or I would be willing to talk to you about it or recommend some reading on the subject. But the best is to talk to God and simply say show me the truth. He delights to answer
God Bless,
Mick Dilley
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© Richard Bush
Last updated: 22 December 2007