Apologies….

I must start with my apologies to Barrow Hill and Brimington Common for suggesting last month that Clowne is now the oldest church building. It isn’t! Sorry!

Circuit Website

All the churches have a page on the circuit website on the internet, but I would be grateful for information to complete this. Three churches have their own web presence and they are linked to the circuit site. If anyone has any interesting information about the churches – history, events etc please let me have this for inclusion on the site. To see the site, go to www.bolsoverstaveley.plus.com. As with this newsletter, I cannot include anything that I do not hear about – please make sure that you send anything for inclusion to me at the circuit office. Your church is not dead – is it? There must be something happening you would like to share with others, or perhaps you would like to report on the success of your last effort. Well here is your opportunity. I don’t want to edit a Clowne and Staveley only newsletter any more than you want to read such limited news.

Chesterfield for Peace

On Tuesday 20th November, there will be an ecumenical service at the Church of the Annunciation on Spencer Street in Chesterfield in which everyone is asked to pray for unity and peace in the world. We have been invited to join with other churches in Chesterfield in this service (and in tea and biscuits afterward at the Parish Centre)

Theology through films !!!

As many of you know, I work often with the visual, I use various multi-media tools to hopefully enhance the message I attempting to bring.
It will come to you therefore as no surprise, that I am an avid watcher of both television and films (when I have time), and for many years have attempted to use such in my ministry. At times Christians have shunned the use of both televisions and films in the Church because of its possible content I am the first to acknowledge that there is good and bad in this genre, but at the same time it is a medium that appeals to so many outside of the Church.
During the first week of October I booked some leave to attend a Theology Through Film course at the Church Army in Sheffield (my thanks to Sue Melbourne for bringing the course to my attention).
For a whole week it could be said, that I sat back and watched numerous different films. Well that was not the case, as I with a group of students, we were encouraged to look critically and theologically at films, and see the ways in which these films could be used in the Church.
Now being a great believer of putting what I have learnt into practice, I would like to set up a series of meetings looking at films (listed below) considering the ways in which we can engage with the genre of film and the Christian faith. Film clips will be around the 15 category and some may well challenge us in a way we have not been challenged before. My hope is that through them we will be able to grow in our Christian faith and have a greater awareness of Christian themes and theology in film.
If you are interested, please contact me and suggest whether this should be a daytime or evening event ? during the week or on a Sunday ? Once a week, a fortnight ? or month ? Please note there may be a small charge to cover materials and equipment etc (but it will be kept to a minimum).
I very much hope to hear from you.

Yours in Christ, Revd. Mark Coles

Star Trek : First Contact - Brassed Off
Awakenings - Amistad
A time to kill - Philadelphia
Shadowlands - The Shawshank Redemption
Dead Man Walking - Secrets and Lies
American Beauty - Gladiator
The Matrix - Sixth Sense

All Good Gifts Around Us…

At this time of the year we all thank God for the harvest. Our churches are decorated with sheaves of corn, the children bring their gifts for the harvest table…. Then what do we do with them? For many years now we, at Clowne, have distributed the gifts in the form of small food parcels to the sick and aged in the church. This year however we decided to do something different. We contacted a group called Hope for Romania through the Sheffield Christian Education Council. Mr Cawley and his small band of helpers TAKE food and clothing aid to an area in Romania where they have developed a close relationship directly with families who need assistance. Clowne and Barlborough harvest gifts were geared to this effort and between us we were able to send a car full of dried goods (pasta, salt, flour etc) and plain canned foods (especially fish) to help the Romanian families. (These families should already have the food by the time you read this!)

CIRCUIT DIARY

Circuit Meetings and Other Church Events

November 2001

    3   Circuit Prayer Meeting                     7.30 pm     New Brimington
    6   Bonfire                                              6.00 pm     Staveley
10   Christmas Fayre                              11.00 am   Staveley
12   Circuit Prayer Meeting                     7.30 pm     Duckmanton
17   Christmas Fayre                              10.30 am   Clowne
19   Circuit Safeguarding Committee     7.30 pm     Staveley
24   Chesterfield Operatic Society In Concert (for tickets contact
                                           811232)            7.00 pm     Clowne
28   Circuit Property Committee             7.30 pm     Staveley

December 2001
15 Circuit Carol Service 6.00 pm Staveley

Church Christmas Services

On 16 December:

Brimington at 10.45 Carol Praise led by Mr Darryl Beresford
Barrow Hill at 6.00 Candlelit Carols led by Revd Mark Coles,
Bolsover at 6.00 Carol Service led by Revd Peter Cross,
Clowne at 6.00 Candlelit Carols (Own Arrangement)
Duckmanton at 6.00 Carol Service (Own Arrangement)

On 23 December:

Brimington Common at 10.15 Family Carols led by Lucie and Neil Hutson
Staveley at 10.30 Carol Service (Own Arrangement)
New Brimington at 4.00 Candlelit Carols (Own Arrangement)
Hillstown at 6.00 (Own Arrangement)
Brimington Common at 6.00 Candlelit Carols (Own Arrangement)
Inkersall at 6.00 Carol Service led by the Choir
Barlborough at 6.00 Carol Praise (Own Arrangement)
Brimington at 6.00 Carol Service led by Rev Peter Cross

On 24 December
Staveley at 11.30 pm (Own Arrangement)
Clowne at 11.30 pm led by Rev Mark Coles (HC)
Brimington Common at 11.30 pm led by Rev Peter Cross (HC)

And On 25 December

Duckmanton at 9.15 led by Rev Peter Cross
Inkersall at 10.00 led by Rev Mark Coles
New Brimington at 10.00 (Own Arrangement)
Bolsover at 10.30 led by the Worship Leaders
Brimington at 10.30 led by Rev Peter Cross

Brimington will also be holding a watchnight service at 11.30 pm on 31st December.

Our Vision

Newsletter of the Bolsover and Staveley Circuit

November 2001 No 6