For the timetable of services and regular events please see the Church Diary.

For the latest Kenya Project News please see the Kenya Pages

The whole Church Magazine is now available online.

Index

Church Matters - Church Meetings, Bible Study Sessions, Vacancies etc

What's on this month - Special Services, Social and Fundraising events

Film Shows and Concerts - Musical and Visual Arts at the URCiC

Book Now! Forthcoming events - Meetings, Events, Outings and Visits

Church Matters

LOCAL MISSION AND MINISTRY REVIEW – LMMR 2010

We are underway! LMMR should change our life!

LMMR is a new process in the United Reformed Church and we are piloting the scheme in the West Midlands Synod.

LMMR is for churches and ministers to sharpen a minister’s sense of vocation and a church’s sense of direction. At the end of the process, church and minister should be able to:

· Know better where they are going

· Know better what each is contributing to the journey

· Know better what resources they need to get there

· Know better what they need to ask of Synod in order that Synod can ensure resources are identified and provided.

As a church, we expect to have two Pastoral Partners to work with us. At the same time, Maz will have be involved in a self appraisal review with an Appraisal Partner. When our Partners are selected, we shall tell you.

At the end of the process, we shall have a revised Pastorate Profile and a Minister’s Role description. These will be considered and endorsed at a Church Meeting. We shall then submit these documents with a covering commentary to Synod.

The Elders and Minister will lead the process and we have already been briefed by The Revd Elizabeth Caswell (from Coventry and Warwickshire) on behalf of Synod. There is a flowchart which we will put up in each church so you can se what is planned.

We want to involve everyone who is willing in the reflection and review process before we start re-writing the profile to set out what we want to be and do as individual churches and URCiC.

We hope to work on the revised Profile in July and have the Church Meeting on September 11. The existing Profile (written for the vacancy) is our starting point. This is available on the Church web site (www.urcic.org.uk)) and a hard copy will be available in each church.

This is an important and challenging piece of work for us so we hope you can give it wholehearted support.

Tony Jeans , Secretary URCiC

PRESTBURY UNITED REFORMED CHURCH,

DEEP STREET

4pm – 5pm (monthly)

Second Sunday in the month

Get closer to God through creating your own worship

Make craft on a theme

Storytelling that helps you learn more about the Bible

plus

Bring-and-share tea

email or ring Maz for more details

Jump for Joy

St Andrew's - Third Sunday in the Month from 9.30 to 10

An Informal short service for all the family

NEW!

Prestbury URC - Fourth Tuesday in the month from 10.00-10.30 a.m

60 Plus Ministry

August 18 and 25 the 60 Plus Ministry will be providing two afternoons of fellowship at St. Christopher’s. These will run from 2-4pm and fun and fellowship will be the order of the day. Refreshments will be served and these afternoons are free of charge.

Themes for the afternoons are Pirates on the 18th August and Teddy Bears on the 25th August. Sounds Fun!!

Christmas Shoebox Appeal

Operation Christmas Child last year distributed 1.18 million gift-filled shoeboxes to Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Africa and about 35 of those came from our URCiC efforts.

We intend to help Samaritan’s Purse (the charity that organise it all) again this year, so please don’t throw out any of those old shoeboxes – wrap them in Christmas paper and start filling them now! The distribution process starts in early November, so we need to have boxes ready by then. It is not too early to start collecting suitable gifts – toys (tennis balls are good), educational supplies, toothbrush and other hygiene items, gloves, scarfs, etc. All gifts should be new and please note that hand knitted stuffed toys need a CE mark.

This is a great way of helping needy children at Christmas time and I hope we will be able to match last year’s support once again.

Bob Alger

Situations Vacant - URGENT! at St Andrew's

We need your help

A reminder of the vacancies that exist and need to be filled a soon as possible. Please re-read Tony Jeans’s notes on page 20 of last month’s In Touch and please give some serious thought how you might help. Some of our members have worked hard for a number of years for St Andrew’s and they now need to take some time off. If you would like more information about any of the offices that are vacant please talk to Revd Maz Allen, Tony Jeans or any of the Elders.

St Andrew's Redevelopment: the next phase

The Elders have agreed that we will formally launch the next phase of our redevelopment appeal once the committee has been formed and had a chance to consider how it wishes to function. However we have been able to agree on a chairman for the appeal: Ian Thomson has agreed to lead it once he returns to Cheltenham in July. We expect to unveil the full committee by the time the September issue goes to press.

The first work required is replacing the hall heating system with something that will remain useable after the rest of the work is completed. It is envisaged that it will be radiators at floor level and, as I write this, we are awaiting quotes and specifications so that we can appoint a contractor and get the work done this summer. It is possible that some of the wood blocks will have to be lifted round the edge to make the layout work.

The next phase is to get a formal specification drawn up for replacing the floor and lighting, then redecorating the hall. The architect has been asked to give us a price and timetable for that. With that we can then go out to tender and have a contractor ready in place for next summer. However, because of possible changes in the VAT rules for listed churches like ours, we may need to have contracts signed and materials on site by the end of March 2011. I hope we can also include work on the skylights within this programme because of the problems with access. As I have explained to several hirers, and found ways of relocating them for the work period, the work window is primarily from mid June to the end of September. The flooring contractor needs virtually all of that time because of the extent of the work and the time required for the floor to settle once installed. The hall would be sealed off and there would be no access to the stores during that period. Particular attention will be paid to avoiding dust getting into the kitchen.

There is more work required after the interior is finished, but apart from installing secondary glazing on the main hall windows the work is external. The current phase of external work is almost complete, but it was held up at the end by the wrong guttering being supplied to the contractor. We do have a fully replaced flat roof over the stores so hopefully there will be no more leaks there.

David Black

In Touch

. If you no longer wish to receive a copy of the magazine, please could you contact the Church Office on 575086 and cancel your copy. We also provide enlarged copies of the magazine to some of our members who suffer with sight problems. If you would like to receive one of these please let the church office know. Ann Lewis

The In Touch page now has complete back copies of the magazine going back to September 2008 as well as edited highlights on this page. If you wish, I can let you know (via email) when the new edition is added to the website, and if you are happy to read it on the web then you might want to consider not having a paper copy of In Touch at all. Church Council has also asked me to find out if anyone would like to receive a copy of the weekly notices via email. If you wish to go down any of these routes then please contact Fiona Hall

Women’s Refuges

Lyn Ricketts (St Andrews) would like any type of women's cosmetics, shampoos, skin cream, soaps, perfume etc (does not matter is they have been open). Also if anyone has some children's games they do not want. These will be given to women's refuges. She would like to thank everyone for their generous support

Stamps for ‘Hearing Dogs for Deaf People’

A big thank you to all those who collect used postage stamps for this wonderful cause. I spend many happy hours sorting and trimming them, but would be very grateful if people could cut out the stamps neatly and leave a reasonable margin whenever possible.

Joan Thomson

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What's On

A Guide to the social and fundraising events in the URCIC and the Cheltenham Area

Prestbury Monthly Coffee Morning

Do join us for our usual coffee morning on Saturday August 7 from 10.30 till noon. Teas, Coffees, Cakes, Raffle and Fellowship

Charity Quilting Workshop at Warden Hill URC

On Friday 13^th August, there will be a Charity Quilting Workshop in aid of Kenya Projects UK in the Warden Hill URC building from 11-5. You will be shown how to make a quilt, a bag or a cupcake cushion. The cost is £30 waged/£20 unwaged to include coffee, cakes and biscuits. You will need a packed lunch and materials. There will be a raffle.

Places are limited to 20, if you are interested, please contact Carole Pennington steveandcarole@blueyonder.co.uk)

Puddings at the Manse!!

Maz invites you to drop in any time between 2-5pm and 7-9pm on Friday 20 August for tea/coffee and a sample of as many puddings as you like!! £5 entrance, pay on the door. All proceeds to Kenya Projects UK.

Knit and Chat


Knitted Teddy		Rainbow Babies
www.allaboutyou.com/craft/knitting-pattern-teddy/v1		www.jeangreenhowe.com/patterns.html

We meet on the 3rd Thursday of the month in the Garden Room at St Andrew's. Current patterns (above) are available on the Internet. It is hoped to add an evening session.

Next meeting

1pm

Thursday 19^th August

Lizzie George

'Footsloggers'!

. The walk for August will be led by Brenda Little. See church notice boards for detailed information.

Cooking up a storm !

Prestbury has re-launched its Harvest of the Talents and for this this year, Julie Jefferies would like to produce a recipe book of our favourites. So if you have any special recipes for family meals, low fat, low sugar, just desert, cakes and bakes, special meals for One or vegetarian then please send me your recipes to prestbury@urcic.org.uk

In the Autumn when the book is produced we will have a Recipe Tasting evening

Julie Jefferies.

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Film Shows, Concerts, Talks and other Events

Music in Gloucester

Three Choirs Festival 2010

7 - 15 August

Booking Office Tel: No. 0845 652 1823

Website: 3choirs.org.uk

This year is the 283rd meeting of the Three Choirs Festival of Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester Cathedrals to be held this year at Gloucester Cathedral. It is the oldest music festival of its kind certainly in the United Kingdom, and possibly of the whole world.

Organ Recitals

Gloucester Cathedral:

Free Bank Holiday Monday organ recital

30 August at 12:30 pm

given by Jonathon Vaughn, Wells Cathedral

Cheltenham Opera Society

COS use St Andrew's as one for their regular venues. For more details of the varied programme please see their website - www.cos.urcic.org.uk

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Book NOW! - Forthcoming Events

Reading Group

The Reading Group will be meeting on Wednesday 1 September at 7.30 pm at Prestbury URC. There is time to start reading ‘The Island’ by Victoria Hislop which is the novel we will be discussing on that date. New members are always welcome. Please contact Mary Cummings on 01242 243216 if you would like to know more about the group.

Mary Cummings

Pensioners' Forum - at St Andrew's

There will be no meeting in July and August, we will resume again on Wednesday 1 September when Kay James will be our speaker on the Expert Patients Programme. This is a new NHS initiative to help people who are living with long-term conditions to maintain their health and improve their quality of life.