Pilgrims Way

Congregational & Methodist Church

Minister: Rev Nicola Vidamour
Telephone: 020 8548 4945

Nicola’s day off each week is Friday.
Church Office: 020 8552 5030
e-mail:
Visit our Website @ http://www.pilgrimsway.org

Newsletter for week beginning

27th July 2014

Worship Today

10:30am / Bola Olukoya
6.30pm / Revd Nicola Vidamour

Dates for Your Diary

Wed 30th July / 10am-12 noon / Coffee Morning and Nearly New
Wed 30th July / 11:00 am / Prayer Meeting
Wed 30th July / 2:00pm / Wednesday Fellowship – Afternoon tea at St.Bart’s café

Pastoral Care

If you know of anyone who would like a pastoral visit, please let Nicola, or one of the Elders or the church office know. See Nicola’s and the Church telephone numbers above.

Prayer Requests

The Elders are available to pray with you after the service today and also pray during the week for any needs and concerns which have been brought to them.

Text for the Week

Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face...... Job 13 v 15

Where is Nicola?

Nicola is in Russia from July 29th - Aug 11th.

Oxfam Trailwalker 2014

I am once again participating in the above fundraising event -a100 km hike over the South Downs, within 30 hours. This annualevent takes placeon 26th July. Our team name is "WesleysWalkers" and includes Adrian Buckley, James Clarke andJones Agyeman fromBryan Street. Deacon Debbie Buckley and her friends are in the role of Support Crew. Please give generously to this worthy cause. Andon behalf of the many who will benefit from yourgenerosity may I say a big Thank You, Julian.

Circuit Choir

There will be a Circuit Service at Pilgrims Way on Sunday 31 Augustat 6pm to welcome Nicola as Superintendent and celebrate 25 years since she started preaching. We would like to have a Circuit Choir at this service. There will be two rehearsals at Pilgrims Way on Monday 18th August at 8pm and on the day of the service at 5pm. There is no need to read music. A love of singing is all that is required. We will be singing a simple reflectivesongas an anthemand leading the congregation ina new upbeat version of one of Wesley's hymns.

Future Church Trips

Following our trip to Canterbury we now need to decide what to do next year! Three suggestions have been made. Please sign the list on the notice-board to indicate which you would be interested in attending. You can sign up for just one, twoor all three options! This does not commit you to anything but will help us to gauge the level of interest. 1. Church Weekend. 2. Church trip including some Bible Study. 3. Church Trip without Bible study.

Own Arrangement Service

There will be an own arrangement service on the morning of September 28. If you would like to be involved in the planning and leading of this service please sign the list on the notice-board.

Biscuit Wrappers

Please keep collecting the plastic biscuit wrappers (not paper or foil).

Weekly Offertory

Total Offertory received from Envelopes and Loose offerings for Sunday, 6th

July was £487.45 and £620.61 for Sunday,13th July.

Please give notices to Mary or e-mail her on:

All submissions to be received before Wednesday evening for inclusion in the next issue. Leave a message on or e-mail:

LAST WEEK’S BLOG IN THE BLANK

This has been a week for baptisms, weddings and funerals! This morning I am baptising two children at High Street South. On Wednesday I met with a couple who would like to get married at High Street South next year. On Thursday I took a funeral at Manor Park.

It is a huge privilege to be involved in such significant events but it is also emotionally costly – especially when ministering on the same day to a family mourning a death and a family celebrating a birth.

This week has been especially poignant because I have been constantly thinking of my friends Yulia and Dima whom I mentioned in my sermon last week. Yulia gave birth to twins last week and her little girl (Katya) is doing well but her son (Vanya) is still on a life-support machine. He was baptised by the local Methodist Minister in the special care baby unit last Monday. I feel deeply for Yulia and Dima as they live with such mixed emotions of joy and pain.

The Gospel reading set for today (Matthew 13:24-30) is the parable of the wheat (plants) and the tares (weeds). The field workers want to pull up the weeds but the master tells them to let the plants and weeds grow together until harvest time. This parable has been in the background of all my conversations and prayers this week. We do not always understand why God allows pain to grow in our world as well as joy or why God allows one child to suffer and another to flourish. The only conclusion I have come to is that God urges us not to try and rip the pain out of our hearts but to sit with it – conscious that alongside the seeds of anguish the seeds of hope are still growing.

THIS WEEK’S BLOG IN THE BLANK

I spent Friday and Saturday last week with over 300 Catholics at their National Peace and Justice Network Conference in Swanwick, Derbyshire. I was leading a workshop on Russian icons. I met some lovely people and had some interesting conversations about priesthood and the role of women!

On Tuesday I went to the doctor to get the results of my liver scan and latest blood tests. The good news is that my liver is back to normal and I do not have hepatitis or any auto-immune condition. However, I still have glandular fever which is why I continue to feel so tired. I am to repeat the blood tests again in six months.

I am flying to Russia on Tuesday which I am very excited about!I am spending a week in Pskov and then going to Voronezh for a festival celebrating 125 years of Methodism inEurasia. This is supposed to be holiday but I have been invited to preach in Pskov next Sunday and co-lead a workshop and give a presentation at the Festival – as well as being on the translation team!

The latest news on baby Vanya is that he has now come off the ventilator but has definitely got brain damagedue to oxygen deprivation.Yulia, Dima and Katyaare now coming back to Pskov next week and will be leaving Vanya in Estonia. I am very sad that I will not get to seehim but I plan to go back to Pskov in November to baptise Katya- and hopefully meet Vanya.....

NICOLA VIDAMOUR

Daily Bible Readings

Honouring the Father / Psalm
Sun / 27th / Matthew 13 v 31-33, 44-52 / 105
Mon / 28th / John 8 v 12-20 / 55 v 1-8
Tue / 29th / John 8 v 21-30 / 55 v 16-22
Wed / 30th / John 8 v 31-47 / 56
Thurs / 31st / John 8 v 48-59 / 57
Fri / 1st / John 9 v 1-12 / 61
Sat / 2nd / John 9 v 13-23 / 62

Sunday Worship Next Week 3rd August 2014

10:30am / Revd Nigel Lindsay – All-Age Worship
6:30pm / Own Arrangement

Rotas for next Week 3rd August 2014

Vestry a.m. / - / Julian and Eric
Vestry p.m. / - / Gillian
Elder / Christine
Welcome / - / Mario
Door/Books / - / Sheena and Ernestine
Flowers / - / Dorothy
Coffee / - / Evelyn, Mary K and Mike
Creche / - / Hayleigh
Organ a.m. / - / ?
Organ p.m. / - / Sue
Readers / - / All-Age Worship/Junior Church
Sunday Collection Cashiers / - / Olu and Joan

For Our Prayers

Edna Genis (Wednesday coffee customer) / Edna sadly passed away following her illness
Terence Baptist / In his nineties and paralysed
Sheena / Dealing with anxiety and stress
Nicky (Olu’s friend) / Receiving treatment for cancer
Barbara Dandy / On long-term sick leave with a neck and back problem
Anna (in Ghana) / Suffering ill health/memory loss
Rose / Recovering from an illness

Unemployed people seeking work

All those suffering from cancer

All those who are housebound or in Care Homes

Those receiving ongoing medical treatment or awaiting/receiving/recovering from surgery

All those finding life stressful

The situations in Iraq/Afghanistan/Syria/Egypt/Sudan/Nigeria

Churches/Christians throughout the world.