Wildfire - Issue 8

Issue 8 • April 2013

BUILDING LOCAL COMMUNITY Many years ago God gave me a picture of baskets holding fruit right across our area, and these baskets represented our Community groups.

Some were small, others larger, some were overflowing, and all contained fruit.

Baskets are a place to store something you value, to keep some things together, to gather in the harvest and that is exactly the goal of our small groups.

Continued overleaf...

CONTENTS

NEW REPORTS OUT

2012 Finance feedback

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Wednesday TotZone

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KidZone capers

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Clothing the naked / Jigsaw

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Forging friendships

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Another perspective

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On mission together

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Building update

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Continued from overleaf...

We are a church scattered over a large area and without our local groups we could feel quite isolated.

This area is God’s plan for us, but it is our responsibility how we care for the fruit he gives us. Local Community groups give us the opportunity to make friends locally, to ‘belong’ locally, and to care for one another in a local community.

It is the ideal place to practice all the one another verses we read in the Bible - love one another, encourage one another, be kind to one another, offer hospitality to one another, do not grumble against one another, forgive one another etc.

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For more information visit churchinthepeak.org.uk/ resources/publications/

Finances Annual Report

KidZone

Annual Report

Jigsaw

Annual Report

Practical ‘one anothering’ isn’t only for group leaders, although they may facilitate by organising help; it is for everyone to practise whenever the need arises, when someone is ill, when a baby is born, when transport is needed, meals provided, child care offered.

Jesus said ‘everyone will know you are my disciples if you love one another’. Love is both spiritual care and practical care, we can’t offer to pray for someone and leave them hungry. Building our Community groups really is about getting involved in other people’s lives. Spiritual care is also vital, supporting, praying, being there for each other as we go through the storms of life together - knowing

you have people around you makes all the difference as you tackle the difficulties which inevitably come along.

So belonging to a Community group isn’t only about the mid week meeting, it’s about what happens every other day of the week. We meet together once a week where we can practice various spiritual disciplines and help one another grow into maturity through Bible study, discipleship, prayer and worship.

Groups are fun places to be, to get to know others and to be known.

And as such they can’t be too big.

Jesus had a group of 12 friends with whom he spent loads of time;

if that was his chosen number we really can’t expect to do community with more. My rule of thumb is that ideally our groups should not be so big that we are unable to have Sunday lunch together once in a while, including adding in partners and kids. How many can you fit round your table or in your lounge?

When Jesus departed from this planet he left his 12 with one instruction, ‘Go and make disciples of all men, teaching them .......’ you can read it yourself in Matt 28.1920. And that is exactly what he wants us to do, keep adding others in, caring for them, discipling them in his ways, and multiplying into more groups.

Gill Harper 2

2012 FINANCE FEEDBACK At the start of 2012 a budget was presented that had a faith demanding shortfall as a result of taking the step to employ a new staff member to help expand our work.

Twelve months later our 2012 accounts have been now audited and it’s wonderful to see how God has blessed us as you have responded generously to the need. We finished the year with a £7,000 surplus.

WEDNESDAY TOTZONE We’ve had a great year at Totzone, with a group of regular attendees and relationships being developed.

It’s hard to believe we’ve been going for a year now. We’ve seen numbers fluctuate on a weekly basis, but have a regular core of about eight adults, sometimes going up to fifteen, plus children.

The children enjoy a variety of toys and activities, including craft, snack, story and singing time.

Friendships are being developed and we have the privilege of sharing experiences and praying with some of the parents / carers.

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So thank you all very much for your faithful giving. God has been stirring us about buildings and we are going to use this surplus to kick start a building fund so that we have project priming resources at hand when needed.

We’re hoping to organise some social events so that we can have some fun without noisy children & dirty nappies! One of the highlights was getting a card from one mum thanking us for all of our hard work and for being the friendliest toddler group in Matlock! We’d love to see relationships deepen and go beyond Wednesday mornings - please pray for this to continue to happen.

If you are interested in helping at Totzone, in anyway, we’d love to hear from you.

The Totzone Team

During 2012 we were able to give away 15% of our income, which totalled £28,700.

This included the special offerings for a van for India and the refugee support project in

Yalova as well as on-going support for the Heaths in Tallinn and Sarah in Ghana.

It’s worth noting that we also release part of Dave and

KIDZONE CAPERS As well as the normal Sunday morning activities, KidZone are organising some extra activities for the kids and their friends.

On Friday 22nd March, KidZone will be hosting a Make Your Own Pizza And Watch A Movie night.

The kids already have invitations and are being encouraged to invite their friends along. (Further invitations available from Chris) On Sunday 21st April, the KidZone kids will be having a Cake Sale to raise money for the Yalova Refugee Project.

Thanks for supporting our kids in these events, whether that is

Justyn’s time to serve the wider group of churches that we are part of.

Full copies of our accounts and notes are available through our website and church office.

ferrying them and their friends to and from the Pizza evening, helping them to make cakes or buying (and eating!) them.

Chris and Harriet would also like to pass on their thanks to everyone in the team for the time and effort they put into preparing for their weeks and for being prepared to step in at short notice if necessary.

KidZone needs a couple of extra helpers right now. If you’re interested, please get in touch with Chris or Harriet Cookman.

For more information on KidZone, please see the latest edition of the KidZone Newsletter.

Chris Cookman

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CLOTHING THE NAKED Jesus said ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:40) and the Jigsaw clothes bank aims to serve and love people and help in a practical way.

It is held quarterly, open to anyone and people can take whatever they need. On the day the team arrive around 10 am to finish set up, pray and get drinks on. It starts at 11 (people often turn up early) and finishes at 1pm. There is a real need for the service and a huge variety of people from differing backgrounds come, and that is one of the things I love about it. There

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is always a great atmosphere and it is a privilege to get to know people and build friendship and trust. The numbers grow each time and new people are asked to leave their contact details so they can be informed about the next one.

There have been challenges in relation to setting up, putting away and sorting the clothes. I was trying to do a lot myself and it became overwhelming. Getting the right amount of help was difficult, but my community group stepped in and it has become a group project which works really well. It is very supportive and a group of people brings the advantage of teamwork with fresh eyes and different skills.

It also builds a sense of community

JIGSAW UPDATE A lot has been happening at Jigsaw with even more to come!

Clothes Bank by Cathy Porteous

and people become aware of the challenges and also of the people/community we serve. From this experience, I would really encourage other groups to look at projects they could undertake together.

The aim for the future is to have a room which is specifically for the purpose of the clothes bank with the clothes displayed so people could just walk in at any time and look around. It would also enable open days to be held more often. Prayers would be appreciated. Thank you!

Cathy Porteous

The next key event on our calendar is the Easter Celebration Meal which will be on Wednesday 27th March.

This year we will be supported by staff from Dales Housing who will be coming along to help set up, act as waiters and clear the washing up! Their team will also be making cakes at local schools to bring as puddings on the day.

Shortly after that the Fareshare pilot will be starting and we are very excited about this.

We have been key members of the team setting up this new pilot. This involves the trial of a Fareshare Hub at Derby where local Community Fareshare Members can collect bulk supplies of ambient goods on a fortnightly basis.

We are still short of strong volunteers for our furniture collection and delivery services so don’t be shy! If we had four regular volunteers you would only be called on once a month, six volunteers would make it even less frequent.

Deb Haworth 6

Intrepid Explorers by Chris Cookman

PLACEHOLDER Men’s group photo goes here

FORGING FRIENDSHIPS Mountain literature has given us many gripping accounts of men doing battle with the unforgiving forces of nature in selfless acts of courage. This, rather, is a brief account of ten men, a boy and a dog who braved the snow of the Peak District one winter’s day.

We met in the pub car park on a dull, sleety morning with snow underfoot and the earlier mist not yet cleared. Our route headed North East initially to gain the higher ground of White Edge Moor, before turning South West to follow the White Edge path itself. Even though we only ascended 60m the snow became

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noticeably deeper, but still quite walkable, despite slushy patches; the path was never in doubt, so we were able to amble along, chat and socialise. I had hoped we might see some red deer, but no such luck. After a brief lunch at the trig point, we continued to Curbar Gap, turned North West to follow Curbar Edge and then Froggat Edge back to the pub.

This was only one of a number of events that we’ve put on for men to invite their friends to; others have included bowling, croquet, orienteering and a brewery visit.

We’ve seen a good number of men at these events and made or extended many friendships.

Ian Parfitt

Monsal Dale by Jamie Bassnett

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE We all start our pilgrimages from different places. Mine began in the Roman Catholic Church and joined Lizzie’s path in a Church of England fellowship.

As we followed God’s prompting to come to CitP in Matlock its fair to say that there were some aspects of the worship that challenged us; or more accurately, ‘freaked us out’! Speaking in tongues?

Prophetic words and pictures? All a bit intimidating, not to say scary.

That said, there can be no doubt of the glorious presence of the Holy Spirit at the meetings and we had to know more!

Why are courses helpful for people new to CitP? The Vision and Values input is a gentle and supportive orientation experience that puts a context on the genesis of CitP/Newfrontiers and helped us understand why worship is foundational to the outworking of the gospel of grace. The Foundation course is an accessible, interesting, stimulating journey through the Bible that invites a fresh examination of the bedrock of our faith - Jesus’ message! It’s a great way of exploring the Word together and with others. Packed with ‘light bulb moments’ we have been so blessed as we study it together and as a group.

Den Murphy 8

ON MISSION TOGETHER It is healthy for a rural church like ours to lift our eyes beyond our own locality to the wider region and to the nations.

Last year we gave £2000 to help set up a charity called Choices helping the long-term unemployed in East Manchester. They are seeking to develop young peoples’ skills and self worth through free dance and music classes using talented musicians and dancers from the church and also provide computer training and support at their shop in Gorton. About once a month leaders from churches in Manchester, Blackburn as well as the Peak District meet together

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in Manchester for training, prayer and great doughnuts! We are also working with a church in Doncaster.

In 2012 we had involvement in India, Ghana, Latvia, and Turkey and more recently Dave and Gill visited Dubai and Oman in the Middle East. Sarah Smith has now returned from Accra in Ghana having established KidZone style children’s work there. Our financial support for Sarah came to a close at the end of last year.

The Heaths are now settled in Tallinn and are gathering a church planting group. What began as 2 years financial support has been extended to 5 years but will cease at the end of August as we refocus

BUILDING UPDATE Sometimes prophetic words are hard to follow and that appears to be the case at the moment with the Servo building.

marketPlace by bass_nroll

our mission towards the Middle East and the Muslim world. The support for food parcels into Yalova in Turkey is now underway and we will have an update at the News Night. Last year we gave some financial support to Tim and Becky to help in their move to Gateway church, Dubai from Buxton, and it was great to see them recently and see their new life there. Please continue to remember Sarah Earlham in Melbourne and also Ben as he goes to Morocco this Easter on a ministry trip.

One of the prophetic words we had in the beginning was that getting the building would be like a rollercoaster ride and that is certainly the case at the moment as we head down a very sharp dip and cannot see a way up, but that is the way with rollercoasters! The company that owns the Servo building have decided to redecorate and move back in after Easter even though they only moved out 18 months ago!

It`s at times like this that we have to trust God and believe that his timing is perfect even though it seems frustrating to us whilst we wait! Given the track record of the company involved everything could change very quickly and so we continue to pray that God will release the property to us and that the rollercoaster ride will not last too long! For the moment buckle up and pray!

Neal Garratt

Dave Harper

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IS THIS YOU?

PRAYER UPDATES

Feeling moved to plant a church?

Prayer is essential in the life of the church, and we need to stand with one another in prayer. Here are three easy ways to get updates on things that need prayer:

We’re looking for people eager to get involved in church planting, (particularly in Leek, Glossop & Belper) to form a small group for training and equipping.

Are you a budding journalist, writer or photographer?

If so, we could do with your help with future news releases, online material and Wildfire articles.

Contact the office for more details.

+44 (0)1629 584783 churchinthepeak.org.uk admin@churchinthepeak.org.uk

Firstly, the prayer chain; if you’re not on this email contact-list and would like to be, then please email juliagarratt@hotmail.com.

Secondly, you can visit our internal facebook group via the link below to request to be included in the online discussion: fb.com/groups/churchinthepeak For public updates, visit and like our facebook page, via the link below: fb.com/churchinthepeak