In the meantime, why not read Richard’s latest musings.

This was the 3rd year that we have held a Remembrance Service in Knaphill Village.  We hold the Service on Armistice Day, November 11th instead of the nearest Sunday.  We gather outside the Old Library.  The Service this year had a special poignancy, as there is now no one living that served during . . . → Read More: Public Act of Remembrance]]>

This was the 3rd year that we have held a Remembrance Service in Knaphill Village.  We hold the Service on Armistice Day, November 11th instead of the nearest Sunday.  We gather outside the Old Library.  The Service this year had a special poignancy, as there is now no one living that served during the First World War, which is why it is so important that we do this each year.  The Service was led by our Minister the Rev Richard Sherlock.

There was a large crowd of people from the village; we were also joined by Woking MP Jonathan Lord, Local Councillors Melanie Whitehand and Tina Liddington plus Members of the Armed Forces and the British Legion. Children were represented by Pupils from Knaphill Junior School.  The Children had been learning about the Battle of Britain and several of the children read Poems they had written about the event, which were excellent and very moving, considering they have never experienced War.

The 2 minute silence was observed with Ruth Moore playing Last post and Reveille and a Piper played a lament.  Rev David Faulkner from the Methodist Church and Rev Nick Grew, Holy Trinity lead Prayers.

It is occasions like this that give us the opportunity to be in the community with the people of the Village.  After the Service it is good to go into the King’s House Coffee Shop, for Coffee & Cake decorated with a Poppy.

Judy Spink

And read Richard’s latest musings.

The theme this year was a Secret Mission. Each day was based on the Story of Moses from his birth to leading . . . → Read More: Mission Rescue Holiday Club]]> For the 3rd year, in August, we held a Children’s Holiday Club . This year we had 22 children and for some it was the 3rd time they had been with us.

The theme this year was a Secret Mission. Each day was based on the Story of Moses from his birth to leading the Israelites out of Egypt. This involved camouflage and disguise, with Moses in the Bull Rushes, a briefing at the Burning Bush, attack by the Plagues and finally escape through the Red Sea. Each day there was a DVD to watch to help prepare us for the task ahead, crafts which included a model of Moses in the Bull Rushes, bricks made with straw and mud as the Israelites would have made them – great fun as all children like mud pies, and boxes to keep secret messages in.

The Teams were ME1 & ME2 (Moses’ Explorers) and led by Secret Agents (Agents L and J), there was excellent teaching each day from the Spy Masters. I can’t reveal their identity as you never know who might read this article. The children were given a Password each day to remember, which they had to tell us before they could come in. There were also Games led by the Spy Master to make them fit and alert so they could become good Secret Agents, when the high alert was given the Secret Mole had to be found.

On Friday we had an Intruder; because of the training the children had received, he was soon spotted and removed, and we haven’t seen him since, so we’re not to sure what happened to him. As always there were Songs to be learnt so each morning ended rather loud. “Our God is a Great Big God” has certainly become a favourite with the children, particularly the version we used this year which was recorded at a Children’s Praise Party.

The week ended with Mission Rescue Debriefing on Sunday morning, when an amazing number of children and their parents attended. The children were awarded their Certificates by the Spy Master; the Service was then followed by a Bar-B-Q  and we hope everyone had enough food to eat. So ended an excellent week. We were fortunate in that we had a good number of helpers this year and a lot of answered Prayer for which we thank God.

We ask that you continue to pray for this work, particularly for the children, for whom, it was their last year as they will be too old next year that we will know how to keep in contact with them in the future.

Judy Spink

What a fun weekend has just passed, at first glance it looked like being a pretty daunting one:

Saturday working with Outside Light in Woking ballooning. Sunday church in the morning, as well as the Strawberry Fair to setup, balloon at, and break down. While in the background the summerhouse at . . . → Read More: Worship in the church, the street and the field…]]>

What a fun weekend has just passed, at first glance it looked like being a pretty daunting one:

Saturday working with Outside Light in Woking ballooning. Sunday church in the morning, as well as the Strawberry Fair to setup, balloon at, and break down. While in the background the summerhouse at home needs to be up by the end of the weekend as storms are forecast, the dog needs walking, my wife is working in the pharmacy most of Sunday and the usual help from the older daughter with the youngest has been lost while she camps with the scouts…

To many a secular friend this weekend would seem mad, how they would ask is making balloon dogs an act of Worship? Why would you even want to spend a weekend like that when you could be in the pub, or just crashed out watching TV? However worship is about using the gifts you have, showing the grace of God. For me this weekend it was to be a balloon modeller and First Aider. For my wife it was to be a Chemist, for others cook, evangelist, face painter, driver, washer upper, craft supervisor, preacher, organist, and teacher.

Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

Its hard to explain if you have not experienced faith and the love of God, but once you do you can’t keep it in. I can only speak of the blessing I received this weekend, but the for me the smile on one childs face at the free gift of a balloon is worth everything. So working with Outside Light is a pleasure, if tiring and this weekend worked out a little different. Unknown to me it was the Armed Services Day, complete with an open air worship in the town square. As the army broke into hymns a quick search on the iPhone for the words gave us the chance to form an impromptu male trio, I doubt they heard our singing from the back but we tried. We burned through a good 150 balloons, lots of leaflets explaining the good news of Jesus, painted a lot of faces, had many conversations and I pray melted a few stony hearts as well as bringing a little happiness to Woking’s children.

Sunday was a very different day, getting to church with the kids is a challenge in itself, something ironically I had found myself discussing with a young christian family on the street Saturday. Add in losing the oldest, who normally can be relied on to help out with the 3 year old, Susan being at work and with the need to be in early to load the car, it should have all ended in tears. Still we made it to my car with a good 20 seconds to spare, if no balloons as Sue had taken them to work after I left them in her car – ‘Doh’.

Loading the car at church went smoothly, this is our 5th Fete with our new kit we brought last year and we are getting better at organisation. Then it was into the first half of the service, before being prayed out with a Sohan and Graham to head over and set up. Putting everything together without Eric was interesting… but we managed to get it all working without bending anything, then a surprise as lunch was brought in. The heat was really beating down and it was great to hide in the shade of the gazebo and tuck into ice cold drinks and sarnies.

The fair started to kick off and the crowds built up as the rest of the church who could get over after the service came to join us. Richard is getting better at balloons and did most of the early running, while Ruth handed out info on our upcoming holiday club and everyone else chatted to those who stopped to look at the posters or discuss the fair.  I lost track of the people we spoke to, but it was a wonderful day.

So after a weekend on my feet, either working with the church, Outside light, or just being a dad to my 3 kids I am pretty tired but it’s a good tired. I can only speak personally of the blessings I get working with such wonderful people and having the chance to serve. There is an old saying, if you want something done, give it to someone who is already busy. Sometimes we get called to do a lot, but luckily for us through faith we get given the tools we need to do what is asked of us.

And read Richard’s latest musings.

From the first time Henri saw the painting it had a . . . → Read More: Reflections on Easter 2011]]> As part of our Easter preparations this year we met with the Methodist Church & Holy Trinity on alternate Sunday evenings during the 6 weeks of Lent. We used Henri Nouwen’s studies on the Return of the Prodigal Son, based on Rembrandt’s painting.

From the first time Henri saw the painting it had a great affect on him and immediately spoke to him. The studies focused on the 3 main characters, the Son, the Father and the Elder son. It soon became apparent that this Parable is more than just a good story to tell children. Forgiveness, the Father heart of God and the attitude of the Elder brother were all part of the discussions. While studying the painting, it was not immediately obvious, but after a while we realised the Hands of the Father are different, looking closer one hand is female and the other male, showing us the characteristics of God are both Father & Mother. We were encouraged to think about which character we might relate to and how our attitudes may need to change.

This study format is not for everyone, but it was good to come together and put aside our differences and think about what we have in common, such as knowing the love of Jesus Christ, also the opportunity to get to know one another from the other Churches.

Another service that we shared with Holy Trinity was the Maundy Thursday Communion. It is at this service we remember how Jesus washed His Disciples’ feet and shared the Passover Meal for the last time. As a reminder of these events, we washed each others hands and dried them, before receiving Communion from Nick & Richard. To do this was a new experience which I found very moving.

This was followed the next morning, Good Friday, by the Walk through the Village with the Cross. Stopping for readings on the way we went to Holy Trinity for this year’s Service where about 200 people gathered for a time of worship to remember the Death of our Lord. Being a lovely day we were able to have fellowship in their Garden afterwards of Tea/Coffee & Hot Cross Buns.

Our own service on Easter Morning was an All Age service with Communion, a time to Celebrate Our Risen Lord with Hot Cross Buns and Easter Eggs. The final service on Sunday Evening was at KBC where we were joined by Holy Trinity, for the Stations of the Resurrection another time of blessing.

Finally I would like to Thank Richard and the Ministers of the C4K Churches for making Easter 2011 such a memorable and challenging time.