Don’t telephone me on a Saturday morning, I am unlikely to answer. That is when I indulge in my weekly treat – a cup of coffee and the biscuit barrel, a comfy chair and the television tuned to Saturday Morning Kitchen.
I consider myself a good cook and I enjoy preparing and cooking main meals. I can taste a dish and know whether I need an extra pinch of paprika, a soupcon of fish sauce or a dash of balsamic vinegar to achieve that memorable taste. So I thought the time had come to try cake baking. Armed with a Delia Smith recipe, I decided to tackle what I imagined to be the easiest – scones.
I measured out all the ingredients, and mixed them as per instructions. I rolled out the pastry using the lightest of touches, cut out the circles, glazed them with milk and beaten egg and put them in the oven at gas mark five. While they were baking I whipped the cream and got out the strawberry jam. The smell of baking filled the kitchen and my mouth watered in anticipation. After 12 minutes the timer pinged.
I could immediately see that something was not quite right; the scones had not risen much. Still, I transferred them to a cooling rack, waited a while, then tried one. If anyone needs some ballast for a garden path I have the perfect material! They were as hard as nails.
Fortunately, the ‘recipes’ for living which we find in the Bible, will never go wrong. With ‘ingredients’ of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (the ‘fruits of the spirit’ in Galatians Chapter 5) we can be assured that our lives will turn out much better than my scones did!
The Bible is full of ways to help us cope with the stresses and strains of everyday life. The chief way is to put your trust in Jesus Christ. He said, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him”.
If you would like to find out more about the true recipe for a contented life, there are various courses starting at St Giles’ in September. There is a ‘START’ course for those who wish to explore the Christian faith, plus others entitled ‘Uniqueness of our Faith’, ‘Challenging Lifestyle’ and ‘Searching Issues’. All are welcome to attend. For more information see the leaflet available in both churches.
Meanwhile - happy baking!
Ken
My article in July’s ICN was about special features of the URC buildings and furniture. I ended with the remark, “Many will be coming for Holiday Club … See how we use the place then!” Well, Holiday Club certainly did made good use of the premises!
The buildings were used to the full and overflowing. The main worship area of the church was transformed into a beach, festooned with multicoloured bunting, and the pulpit became a red and white lighthouse, or was it a Punch & Judy show, or a bathing tent? Over 200 children sat on the soft, sandy-coloured carpet for the morning stories, jokes and news, and jumped up for the action songs.
They then divided into 20 groups for activities on the day’s theme, and the theme of the week, which was “Seaside Rock”. Younger groups met round tables in the Meggeson Hall, older groups in the church, and the three year 6 groups combined in a marquee on the car park. Infant age children of Holiday Club staff filled the hall foyer, the Hardwick Room, and a tent on the lawn.
The Parlour and the Stage became the resource bank for craft material and equipment. The patio was the paint station and pottery studio. The other side lawn had two gazebos for messy work. And the kitchen served up thousands of drinks and biscuits.
In the afternoons the tables in the hall and the church became the work benches for a huge range of different handicrafts, while groups left the car park for the sports field and for coach rides to activity centres such as Quasar, HOAC and ice skating.
At the end of the week, someone commented, “You can have your church back now!” But I was delighted to have seen it so full and busy. I see Holiday Club week as the church in action in a very special way: children and adults enjoying the fun of faith, praising God and learning about life together – making the very best use of the premises. They discovered the foundation for our lives is in the rock of Jesus’s teaching, and in a transformation like that of Simon the fisherman becoming Peter the believer and disciple.
Many thanks to all who made this possible.
Bernie
FROM THE CHURCHES’ REGISTERS
Baptisms at St Giles’
June 28th Joshua Louie Havard
Jemima Rose Potter
July 26th Bradley James Norman Finnis
Aug 9th Sophie Chloe Louise Rothwell
Billy Munro
Baptism at the URC
July 5th Caitlin Elizabeth Joan Davies
Wedding at St Giles’
July 4th Thomas Zittel and Charlotte Rayner-Brown
Wedding at the URC
Aug 1st Kenneth Adams and Samantha Warner-Dart
Cremations at Breakspear Crematorium
June 18th Violet Gregory, aged 99
June 29th Shona White, aged 9 (after service at St Giles’: a Thanksgiving service for her life then followed on July 13th)
July 21st John (Jack) Taylor, aged 88
July 23rd Peggy Foley, aged 89
Aug 13th Loretta Petitt, aged 66
Burial at Woodcock Hill Cemetery
July 10th Rita Hearne, aged 89 (after service at the URC)
ST GILES’ CHURCH STREET PRAYER LIST
Each Sunday at St Giles’ Church we pray for all the people who live or work in a particular road in the Parish. During September we will pray for the following roads:
Sept 6th Burnham Avenue
Sept 13th Bushey Road
Sept 20th Campden Road
Sept 27th Charlbury Road
If you live in one of these roads why not join us at our 8am or 9.45am services? You will be most welcome.
