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Our Vision

Is to Aspire … to Inspire… a Desire… in JESUS!

The Newsletter of the Bolsover and Staveley Circuit

November 2006                                 No 63

EXTRACTS FROM MAUREEN GARTLAND’S DIARY
You will remember from previous Visions that Maureen visited Romania with the Smiles Foundation back in June.  Here are some extracts from the diary that she kept.

Saturday June 17th  We journeyed to Luton Airport and caught a plane to Budapest, where Sarah the Smiles representative met us and took us to wait for the Americans and the Scottish mission trippers coming in.  Then we set off for the border which seemed along way and it was very hot.

We arrived at Cihei where Kevin welcomed us and we were shown to our rooms.  It was time for the evening meal and afterwards we had a meeting to inform us about Sunday.

Sunday June 18th  This morning we visited the Tileagd Community Complex for Morning Service then to a Gypsy village.  After we returned to the mission centre for lunch.  After lunch we were invited to a Baptism by total immersion at Gepui.  It was surreal when we arrived to hear a brass band playing, they were amazing.  The service was all in Romanian, however we recognised the tunes and then three young girls came forward to give their testimonies.  We later asked for a transcript.  It was a moving service though we understood very little of it.  The brass band was also a male voice choir with beautiful voices.  After service we were invited to stay and eat the local delicacies of rice and other things wrapped around a cabbage leaf and sweetbreads and fizzy pop.  From there we walked down a track to Gepiu Children’s Centre which was not yet finished.

The children finish their education at eleven years and this centre was to take children who wanted to have further education.  This was to try and break the poverty cycle and to generate opportunities for all the people from the young to the old.

We had devotions every evening after dinner and then we discussed our day and what projects we would like to go on.  We then had to sign up and later when the lists had been sorted they were put up on the white board and we went where we were sent.  Sometimes too many people wanted to go to the same place so we took it in turns and everyone was able to go at some point in the week to the project of their choice.

Monday June 19th  Melissa, one of the American ladies who also happened to be a Doctor and I went to the Cihei Children’s Centre.  This Centre’s main aim is to try and have as many abandoned babies as they can, adopted in Romania, into Christian families and if this is not possible then to be cared for by Smiles.  When we arrived there were six children and five staff.  The youngest was a five month baby girl named Yuanna, a two year old boy named Joseph, a five year old and the eldest boy was Andre, seven years old.  He had been seriously injured in a car crash and now he remembers nothing and keeps forgetting everything.  This little boy was finding it very hard to do his work because he had no memory and he got very upset.  We were told that there was nothing they could do to improve his memory and he would be like this for the rest of his life.  Another little girl just loved to show me her tongue and another little boy spat at me, he was absolutely adorable.

They have a strict routine with play and work, then play and lunch, then afternoon nap.  Afternoon nap lasts about three hours.  While lunch was being served three other children arrived, two boys and a girl.  It was lovely to see the children go and welcome them to the centre.  While the children slept we went for lunch and returned at 5.30pm and the children went out to play.

I stayed in and cuddled the baby, she cooed and blew bubbles and talked to me.  This was a fantastic experience, she is such a beautiful little baby.  It was ninety degrees outside and Melissa and I decided it was time to say goodbye.  We had had a lovely but very exhausting day.  Just time to put our feet up for half and hour before evening meal.

GOOD NEWS ROADSHOWS
You should have by now all of you will have seen some literature on these.  There are three taking place within a short travelling distance of our Circuit.  These are designed to be a resource for churches to be able to draw upon.  They are to be inspiring, refreshing with ample opportunity for questions and discussion allowing people feeling enabled and discouraged.  They were born to share and acknowledge that within the District there are many places where there are stories of Good News and Good Practice within different areas of churches life.  The Roadshows are there to share these stories within as wide a context as possible.

The venues are :
Central, Chesterfield                                 Saturday 11th November
Greenhill, Sheffield                                   Saturday 18th November
The Crossing, Worksop                           Saturday 25th November 

They all start at 10:00am running through to 4:00pm, with a worship celebration at 7:30pm.  Go along, be inspired and see what God’s doing in other places.

MANSE COFFEE MORNING
Gordon and Julie Morton invite you to their home, 5 Juniper Close, Hollingwood on Saturday 11th November 10:00am – 12:30pm.  Take this opportunity to come and meet Gordon and Julie, if you already haven’t or even if you already have.  

JOINT CHILDREN’S AND YOUTH WORKERS SESSIONS
These are District sessions that have been organised following a request from one of our churches.  There are four sessions as follows:

Children’s and young people’s spirituality                  Wednesday 31st January
and faith development
How children and young people learn                        Wednesday 7th March
Planning and preparing sessions and                        Wednesday 9th May
exploring resources
Managing Behaviour                                                    Wednesday 11th July

These are a valuable resource that are being held on our doorstep, use them!  Each one is being held at Staveley, starting at 7:00pm finishing at 9:00pm.  Booking is essential, either through the Circuit Office on 470859 or direct with the District Office on 0114 281 2733.

PRAISE AND HEALING SERVICES AT HALL ROAD
You are welcome to join Brimington on Sunday 19th November for our next celebrations, beginning as near to 7.30pm as possible!

CONCERT
Staveley & District Churches United Choir will perform a Christmas Concert with Bakewell Silver Band on Staurday 2nd December at 7:30pm at Rose Hill United Reform Church Hall.  Admission £5 (concession £4) by ticket only.  These are available from Choir and Band members including Barbara and Geoff Thompson.

CIRCUIT PRAYER MEETING
I have decided that I will no longer be involved with the Circuit Prayer Meeting after the meeting at Clowne on Friday 1st December.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has attended the meetings over the past seven years.
Peter Soar

CIRCUIT OFFICE
Our Vision
is a resource for this Circuit.  It is here as partly as a form of communication, to bring items that need publicity, but it also here to offer encouragement and to bring our Good News stories.  We know that God is working within this Circuit, but sometimes we are not all that good at sharing these wonderful happenings.  The Good News Roadshows were born out of this, to share of what God is doing within the District because the stories were not being told.  It is the same here within the Circuit.  We all want and need to be encouraged and inspired.  We are not alone within our individual churches, we make up a much larger family of the Circuit.  If you don’t share, we don’t know and as a Circuit we are poorer for it.  Send your Good News to me and let’s share far more what God is doing here within our own communities.

The Circuit Office will be open on Tuesday’s (9:30am to 11:30am), Wednesday’s (9:30am to 1:00pm) and Friday’s (9:30am to 11:30am). 

Office Address : Staveley Methodist Church, Chesterfield Road, Staveley S43 3XD
Telephone : 01246 470859           Email : administrator@bolsoverstaveley.plus.com

Nick

Circuit DIARY

Meetings and Other Church Events for the forthcoming months.

November 2006

18      Men’s Fellowship Breakfast           8:30am                          Staveley
19      Praise and Healing Service            7:30pm                       Brimington
29      Circuit Property Meeing                 7:30pm                          Staveley

December 2006

1        Circuit Prayer Meeting                  7:30pm                           Clowne
7        Local Preachers Meeting               7:30pm                          Inkersall
11       Staveley’s Sisterhood                    2:00pm                          Staveley
          Carol Service
13      Circuit Carol Service                     7:00pm                          Staveley
16      Men’s Fellowship Breakfast           8:30am                          Staveley
          Carol Service

March 2007

14      General Purposes Committee        7:30pm                         Bolsover
21      Circuit Meeting                             7:30pm                           Clowne

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