TRINITY CHURCH HONLEY
December 2016 & January 2017
Christmas is coming! Christmas is comingThe mince pies have been in the shops since September Christmas is comingThe John Lewis Christmas advert is here Christmas is comingAre you ready? Are you waiting? Christ is comingThe first Christmas began with surprise news to Mary and Joseph (though they had some months to get used to the idea) and it was sudden news to the shepherds. Others were waiting, longing, hoping…. The Magi – watching the heavens for the signs of the time. In the temple at Jerusalem waiting were Simeon and Anna – waiting and praying to see the hope of the Messiah. Simeon saying he could die in peace knowing he had seen Jesus, and Anna with a word of warning to Mary about the pain she would face. How do we read the ‘signs of the times’? What is the hope we yearn for? And what do we do with that longing? Christmas is coming When we remember God coming into our messy and chaotic world. Coming as one who was vulnerable, yet in that weakness came power and strength to change the world. Christmas is coming Rev Helen Roberts How are you going to mark it? www.trinitychurchinhonley.org.uk
30p or £3 p.a. (Free to visitors)
Trinity Church (Methodist-URC) Moorbottom Honley HD9 6DN
TRINITY CHURCH December 2016 & January 2017 DECEMBER SERVICES Sun Time 1030
Laura Tunnacliffe
1500
Rev Helen Roberts Mary & Joseph set off on journey
1030
A Celebration of Christmas. Service led by the Worship committee and with the Trinity Singers
1030
Richard Hoyle
1600
Rev Helen Roberts -Carols by Candlelight- Return of Mary & Joseph
0930
CHRISTMAS DAY Rev Helen Roberts
4
11
18
25
Vestibule Stewards
Church Stewards
Marjorie Woodhead Peter Jackson
Hilary Turner Carolynne Roberts
Sylvia Hallas Jackie Fawcett
Margaret Sheppard Pam Redfearn
Joan Vevers Marion Bainbridge
Glenys Pallister Pat Waite
Minister / Organiser
Coffee team Sylvia Hallas +
Flora
Linda Craven Barbara Leach
Maureen Burley Karen Stannard Joyce Draper Ann Hirst
Any stewards who are available please attend
Honley Churches Joint Carol Sing
O Come all ye faithful. Joyful and Triumphant
Burhouse Court Lounge – Tuesday December 20th 7.00pm Roundway Lounge – Wednesday December 21st 7.00pm All welcome so come and help to make a joyful sound!
DECEMBER EVENTS Sat/Sun
3&4
Christmas Tree Festival Sat-10am to 4pm, Sun- 2 to 4pm. Admission £1.50. Children free if with adults.
Tues
6
Fri
9
Scouts’ Carol Service 7.00pm. All are welcome to join in with the 6th Holme Valley (Trinity Church) Scout Group
Tues
13
Circuit Leisure Group Walk: Meet at Holmbridge at 11am for a walk, picnic lunch and afternoon event.
Tues
20
Probus Club Carol Service (in the morning) Then Probus members go to Meltham Golf Club for a lunch.
Sun
18
Candlelight Carol Service 4pm. Please bring candles or torches to welcome Mary & Joseph at Trinity Church
Mon
26
Trinity Church/Honley Civic Society - Boxing Day guided local walk. Map reading round Honley Bring a compass if you have one! Leader Bert Neary. Meet at Trinity 2.15 pm
Pram Service at 11am. Refreshments after. Grown-ups welcome too. Tuesday Fellowship in Arthurs’ Room at 2.30pm. Carols and Christmas tea. Chairlady-Joyce Draper.
Christmas Tree Festival 3rd and 4th December The Activities Committee would appreciate any help so please come along Tuesday to Friday the week before (29th Nov to 1st Dec) between 9 and 11am and see how you can help (and get a coffee)
JANUARY SERVICES Minister / Organiser
Sun Time
Vestibule Stewards
Church Stewards
Flowers
Coffee team Margaret Armitage+
Eileen & Peter Marshall
Margaret Armitage Penny Winterbottom
Barbara Leach
Pam Redfearn Linda Craven
1
1030 Rev Helen Roberts †
8
1030
Beth Richardson
David Redfearn Ronnie Moncur
Hilary Turner Carolynne Roberts
Flower Fund
Barbara Leach Ann Hirst
15 1830
Byron Lockwood
Winifred Ainley Karen Stannard
Margaret Sheppard Pam Redfearn
Martin & Alison Booth
Audrey Hawkswell Sylvia Hallas
Glenys Pallister Pat Waite
Shirley Heaton
Jean Wood Linda Craven
Bob & Jane Armitage
Joyce Draper
Rachel Boothroyd Joyce Draper
22 1030
Rev Helen Roberts Marina & Roger Woodhead Joint Covenant Service
29 1030
Michael Taylor
Linda & Stephen Craven
† This is a joint service with Brockholes, Gatehead and Shepley churches
Happy New Year everyone!
JANUARY EVENTS Day
Date Other events in January Trinity/Civic Society guided local walk- Meet at Trinity 2.15 for a walk to Oldfield. Leader– Bert Neary
Sun
15
Tues
10
Tues
24
Tuesday Fellowship in Arthurs’ Room 2.30. Music with Merran. Chairlady Joyce Draper.
Weds
25
Week of Christian Unity meeting in The Arthurs’ Room at 10 30. Reading, prayers, coffee & biscuits.
Circuit Leisure Group. Meet at Scholes at 11.00 for walk followed by Festive Faith lunch Tuesday Fellowship in Arthurs’ Room 2.30. Speaker from Friend to Friend. Chairlady Margaret Armitage.
Tuesday Fellowship
Report by Rachel Boothroyd
SIFT brings hope to the poor of Nicaragua Mrs. Jane Weaver was the speaker at the Tuesday Fellowship meeting on November 8th. She spoke of the work of Seed International Fund Trust (SIFT) in Nicaragua, a beautiful yet poor country in Central America. SIFT, a Christian charity, has been working with the people of Nicaragua since 2002, helping them to find their own way out of poverty. Much needed help is provided in health and education to the people who are in constant danger from natural disasters - earthquakes, hurricanes and volcanoes. The work is funded by donations, grants and fundraising events. Our members purchased items of Jewellery to help with this. The meeting was chaired by Margaret Sheppard.
Walking to keep warm! Report by Joan Vevers The Leisure Group walked from Meltham chapel on 8 November, led by Ann Dawson. Setting off down the Greenway as Photo by Joan Vevers far as Folly Dolly Falls (which didn’t have much water in it) we then turned up the hill towards Helme and had a brilliant view over Meltham. Following the road up we turned off on the path to Blackmoorfoot. It was cold but there was no wind so we were kept warm with walking. We followed one of the inlets to the reservoir until we came to Slaithwaite Road, turning off down Badger Gate and thence back to the Chapel where we ate our sandwiches and had hot tea. Edmund Spavin will bring copies of the 2017 Holmfirth Camera Club Calendar to the next walk which is from Holmbridge on 13th December, usual time of 11am. Wear something warm!
Families flee as the fight for Mosul rages Samaritan's Purse is responding to help people in desperate need as they flee the military offensive to free Mosul from ISIS control. At least 700,000 residents from the city and surrounding areas need urgent assistance Samaritan’s Purse teams on the ground have been working non-stop to preposition supplies and expert personnel in order to bring life-saving assistance such as emergency shelter, food, water, medical support, blankets and hygiene kits to over 15,000 people. See http://blog.samaritanspurse.org/dispatch-from-eastern-edge-of-mosul-city/
Letters to the Editor. Please always put your address and the date on your letters. Our address is: Editor at trinity.news@ntlworld.com, or the back righthand pew, or 27 Moorside Rd, HD9 6HR.
The Thank You corner From Sylvia Hallas, Long Lane, 3 November A big thank you to Eileen Hirst for compiling the flower list., which she has don e for many years, and for getting people to give flowers each Sunday, Sylvia. ♣ From Pam Redfearn Oldfield Rd, 13 November To Trinity members. A big thank you from the Overseas Missions Group for your continuing support for the Phakamisa South Africa mission and the URC Commitment for Life- Bangladesh. A special thanks to all who contribute by putting their small change into the little Mission Boxes; this is most helpful- like it says on the boxes: SMALL CHANGE BIG DIFFERENCE. Anyone who would like a box please ask one of the Overseas Missions Group- Jane Armitage, Glenys Pallister, Margaret Sheppard, Pat Waite and Pam Redfearn. ♣
PERSIAN MEAL CHANGED COURSE Due to difficulties that beset the ever-changing status of asylum seekers the DASH 27th October Persian meal did not take place. Instead, the 15 diners enjoyed a ‘pop-up’ café style meal, prepared by Rahel Girma (right), an Ethiopian, who, with only one day’s notice and helped by just one other person, rustled up an Ethiopian soup, a chicken dish and a really tasty vegetarian dish. And this was followed by fresh fruit 'smothered' in a yoghurt sauce. “So nice I had to go and get a second helping!” says Di Harris.
West Yorkshire Police wish you A Kirklees Rural Happy Christmas! This poem was written last year by PC Sally Baines. T’was the night before Christmas and at Holmfirth nick The Bobbies were busy, every Dave, Sue and Rick There were calls about drivers who'd drunk too much booze Why not get a taxi when’s so much to loose? There were calls from the lonely; sad, this time of year They just wanted to talk and for someone to hear There were calls too from families feeling the strain Arguments, fights, causing heartache and pain There were calls too from people who want it to end They just couldn't cope and needed a friend There were calls from the pubs with the drink in full flow Time Gentleman, please! Home time, let's go! We'll be there through the night, fighting crime, have no fear And on Christmas Day too we'll all still be here! Have fun this ChristmasPeace and joy to you all And if you do need us, we'll answer your call! Happy Christmas, everyone!
The Back Page The refugees’ story – a reflection For two days now we had hardly slept or eaten. We just kept on walking, following the refugee trail, seeking to put as much distance as we could between ourselves and those who wished us certain harm. Even now I fear every noise and every stranger; the images of heartless slaughter still etched into my mind. The screams of mothers clinging to their lifeless children haunted me, along with the sound of the brutal mocking blows that bore down on those men who desperately tried to stand between the soldiers and their loved ones. Our new life, our new child – we just had to run to preserve what we had. People said that I was lucky to have the good sense to get out before the death squads got around to our house. For some reason they seemed to have targeted the richer neighbourhoods first. For once I was glad that we’d been reduced to living in borrowed rooms and makeshift shelters. But sitting here now, a lost stranger in someone else’s land,
by the Joint Public Issues Team
I wondered if our lot was any better than that of those we had left behind.
be seen as more of a threat than useful citizens.
Just a few months earlier, our whole future had seemed so happy and secure. We had plans and dreams of settling down, taking on my father’s business and giving him and my mother grandchildren to be proud of. But look at us now: another helpless refugee family running to stay ahead of the latest tide of hate and bloodshed.
There was no time for such thoughts. Right now we just needed rest, so we wandered over to where another group of migrant refugees had made camp. I still had some money left; perhaps it could buy us some food. I noticed a few women with young children of their own; maybe they would find my wife some shelter and safe space where she could feed our restless child.
We needed to rest. The border was now just a few miles away, with a whole new round of dangers and threats. I’d heard stories about some of the army patrols and the demands they made of refugee women if they wanted safe passage. Even if we did get through, what would be waiting for us on the other side? What kind of life could I provide for my wife and our infant child in a place I had never even been before? I had skills; I was a trained craftsman, but I’d heard that migrant workers were not welcome in some parts; we seemed to
“Come on,” I said, pointing across to the makeshift camp. “Let’s see if we can spend the night with them.” But though I tried to hide it, she could sense the uncertainty and fear that I was harbouring. “Joseph,” she whispered, “it will be all right. Remember what the angels told us: this is God’s child. He will be with us.” Revd Phil Jump Regional Minister for the North Western Baptist Association and JPIT
The Joint Public Issues Team combines the expertise of the Baptist Union, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church in the area of public issues. The Team aims to enable our churches to work together in living out the gospel of Christ in the Church and in wider society. We aim to promote equality and justice by influencing those in power and by energising and supporting local congregations. Follow that! – A teacher asked her Sunday School class to draw pictures of their favourite Bible story. She was puzzled by Kate’s picture, which showed four people on an airplane. She asked her which story it was meant to represent. "The Flight to Egypt," was Kate’s reply. Pointing at each figure, the teacher said: "So that must be Mary, that’s Joseph, and that’s Baby Jesus. But who's the fourth person?" "Oh,” explained Kate “that's Pontius - the pilot!"
Booking a room at Trinity Church The Upper Room 9.5m x 7m.Capacity 60 seated. Kitchen facilities. Access by stairs only. £39 per 4 hr session The Arthurs’ Room Ground floor room 9m x 5.5m. Great for groups! Capacity 30 seated. Facilities for refreshments. Access for disabled. £45.00 per 4 hr session. Contact Karen Stannard 01484 664648. For weddings, baptisms, funerals, etc contact Rev Helen Roberts Tel 01484 305308
FEBRUARY Newsletter Will be available on Sunday 29th January (DV) Contributions to Vera Stanley or John Murray (below) by Sunday 15th January
Regular group meetings at Trinity Playgroup- Mon, Tues, Weds, Thurs, Fri (morning) Contact- Carolynn Roberts 661024 Toddlers Group Tuesday morning Contact- Deborah Fawcett 663966 Drama Groups- Friday evening, Saturday morning Contact- Natalie Haigh 617468 / 07840 800 601 Brownies- Wednesday evening Contact- Ann Dove 665669 Bloodwise (previously called Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research group)– every 3rd Tuesday at 7.30pm.Contact Val Akroyd 662852
SOME TRINITY CHURCH CONTACTS From outside Huddersfield prefix UK area code 01484 Minister: Rev Helen Roberts, 7 Mullion Avenue, Honley HD9 6GN. Tel 305308 Secretary
Jane Armitage, 26 Lower Hall, Healey House, Netherton, HD4 7DG
665990
Treasurer
Hilary Turner, Rydal Mount, Mearhouse, New Mill, HD9 7EX
684704
Pastoral Team
Sylvia Hallas / Pam Redfearn / Joyce Draper
662929
Room Bookings / Activities Cttee Karen Stannard, 6a Marsh Gardens, Honley HD9 6AF
664648
Email addresses
Secretary: jaassociates@tiscali.co.uk, Newsletter: trinity.news@ntlworld.com
Newsletter
(Editor) John Murray, 27 Moorside Road, Honley HD9 6HR. (Coordinator) Vera Stanley, 46 Stoney Lane, Honley HD9 6DY.
662635 663670
S’no Messiah A visiting choir was due to come and sing The Messiah at the church just before Christmas. When a big snowstorm postponed the performance, the minister put up a sign outside: ‘The Messiah will be late this Christmas - due to snow.’