Methodist Church News 2011
Regular Services:
Sunday services at 10.30 a.m, to which everyone is welcome.
Ladies' Meeting on Wednesdays at 2.00 p.m.
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 2011 News
December and January Services
December
4 Communion Service, Revd Phil Poole
11 Morning Service, Mr Stan Coates
18 Carol Service, Revd Phil Poole
25 11 a.m. Christmas Day joint service at Stretton Methodist Church
January
1 10 a.m. Joint service at Stretton
8 Morning Service, Mrs Shirley Irons
15 Annual Covenant Service Rev Phil Poole
22 Service of hymns and readings
29 Morning Service, Mr Bob Lockley
Annual Choral Society Concert
Rolleston Choral Society will be presenting their Christmas Concert on Wednesday 21st December at 7.30. For many people in the village this begins their festivities, as they meet to enjoy the music and the food afterwards. Tickets are available from choir or church members, cost £5 and include the refreshments.
A Seasonal Message
When our children were teenagers we lived in Tutbury, which we liked very much. Far fewer of the old buildings of the ancient market town had been pulled down at that time, and there were several very interesting characters around, Our sons belonged to the choir in St Mary's Priory Church, and on Christmas Eve we usually began the festivities by going to the Midnight Communion, where it was good to see the church full.
Our house stood beside a field, as we came quietly through the silent streets after the service and climbed up beside the field which was quiet except for a few gentle animal noises, we were reminded of the shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. There was just such a night, moonlit and peaceful, when we thought of the crowd of people going forward for Communion to celebrate Christ's birth in Bethlehem, and there at the side of the church steps lay a shepherd's crook and a pair of sandals, supposedly outside the stable door. It sent a tingle down our spine. Beyond these, the Christ child.
Maybe this has often happened since. It was long ago for us, and we don’t forget it.
Joyce & Bob Lockley
Autumn 2011 News
Minister’s Message
Dear Friends,
“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” (Genesis 8:22)
British Christians celebrate harvest in September and October with hymns that express thanks to God for his provision and for a harvest safely gathered in, and it is clearly right to do so, because wherever our food comes from in the world its production is dependent on good growing weather and the skills of the farmer, and we give thanks for both. However, to my mind, it is during seedtime that nature’s real miracles takes place. We sow seed indoors and out, in our greenhouses, gardens and allotments, in our fields and vegetable patches, and a short while later seedlings begin to emerge from the soil. Some of the seeds we sow are so tiny they almost cannot be seen, and yet from them grow large, healthy plants. Other seeds seem so dry and hard we feel we might as well be sowing grit, and yet somehow, buried below the earth, they come miraculously to life.
For Christians the sowing of seed and the growth of plants is a symbol of death and resurrection, and in John 12:24, Christ used this metaphor to refer to his own imminent death: “Truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” In Jesus’s case the sowing of a single ‘seed’ brought into being a worldwide church which continues to grow even today.
The resurrection of Christ teaches us that we should never lose hope, and it is in this spirit that we continue to pray for people affected by drought in East Africa, and for others in conflict-torn parts of the world like Afghanistan and the countries of the Arab Spring.
Our prayer is that better times will come, that lives and communities will be rebuilt and that out of pain and tragedy something new and good will emerge. We pray in a similar vein for those experiencing the pain of saying goodbye to a loved one after happy years together, the pain of separation from friends and family, or the pain that comes from the loss of a job or the breakdown of a relationship.
God is a God of resurrection, who promises that winter will always lead on eventually to summer, that darkness will always be followed by light and that seedtime will always be followed by harvest. So he offers us hope for the future, gives us the strength to keep going in difficult circumstances and when the time is right, helps us start to build again.
God bless you,
Phil Poole
Rolleston Methodist Church
Summer 2011 News
As usual, we hold Sunday services every week at 10.30 a.m., to which everyone is welcome. There is a Ladies Meeting on Wednesdays at 2 p.m.
Our Spring Tea was very well patronised and we thank all who helped by baking cakes, bringing things for the Bring and Buy table and coming to drink tea. It made a very happy occasion, as well as providing us with much needed funds. There are always ways of spending money urgently on an old building.
The schoolroom, as well as being used by Playgroup several times a week and also by Choral Society, is available to other people from the community, for meetings, children's parties etc. If you would like to book the room, please contact Mrs. J. Millward for details. Her phone number is 813016.
We will be taking part in the other summer events in the village, Gardens Sunday on 3rd. July, with Bloomin’ Feet, and the Transport Day on Monday 30th May. Our part in that will be to have a stall in the Garage Sale as we did last year. Since we don't actually have a garage, the stall will be by the back gate on Station Road, only a short walk from the centre of the village. Why not come along and see what bargains you can pick up at reasonable prices? ( Last year we had no fewer than three bicycles, for example. Who knows what will be available this time?)
We are hoping to hold another Holiday Club in the summer holidays for children between the ages of five and eleven. Plans are already being made so watch out for publicity. The children have fun: games, songs, stories and craft, as well as some Bible stories, and the adult helpers enjoy it immensely too!
Joyce Lockley
Spring 2011 News
Please join us Saturday 12th March between 2 and 4 p.m. when we are holding a Spring Tea. There will be a raffle, a cake stall and a Bring and Buy (food). A £2 ticket buys your first cup of tea and cake & entry on the door.
As usual, we will be joining people from St. Mary's for the Women's World Day of Prayer on Friday 4th. March at 2.15 p.m. All welcome, including gentlemen!
On 30th May there will be another Transport Day in the village. Once again we will take part in the Garage Sale when there will be bargains galore. Come and see what we have on offer at very reasonable prices!
3rd July sees Gardens Sunday. So don't forget to look at our Bloomin' Feet.
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© Richard Bush
Last updated: 31 December 2011