Branching Out - Articles
Letter From The Manse
Happy Harvest! At the time of writing we are in the middle of the season of Harvest, which we celebrated on the 27th and 28th September, with our Harvest supper when we were entertained by our talented Community Singers. This was followed with crafts, a harvest hymn marathon, shadow puppets and exploring the story of creation in Variety Church. I like this time of year as we head into autumn, as we are reminded again of the beauty of the changing seasons and we celebrate the world God created for us.
But this year as we explored the story of creation, I’ve been struck that in that story we always celebrate the awe of a God that created something out of nothing and the wonder of the world around us. (Did you experience that wonder when the sun and the moon lined up to make a Super moon, it made waking up at 3:30am completely worth it!) When actually as much as our world is awesome, God created something else much more special…
God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature…” Genesis 1: 26 MSG
On day number 6 God created male and female, creating us in the image of God! Telling the first human beings that this creation is yours, I am giving it to you, so look after it and fill it because it is very very good! How awesome is it that we are the part of creation God called, very very good!
This invitation from the story of creation calls us to work in partnership with God, a call to develop the potential of the earth and the potential within ourselves. It is a call to use our own ideas, creativity, skills and gifts so that we can play our part in shaping the world. It’s a big responsibility isn’t it?
To me this is what harvest is about this year, playing our part to shape this world. It’s about what we can do as God commanded to look after this beautiful creation gifted to us, not just the physical world around us but how, we the people of this creation, are entrusted into each other’s care. It is our responsibility to make sure each person in this creation is cared for and loved. Harvest isn’t just about singing the hymns where we thank God for the world. Harvest is a call to care and to action, to offer the harvest of ourselves, the skills and gifts, time and money, that are the fruits we have to offer to work in partnership with God in creation to look after the world and all its people.
This call strikes in most in the hymn by Dominic Grant (Singing the Faith 128):
“A harvest we bear –
Our talents and time.
A calling to share:
Such is God’s design.
As people of Jesus
We honour his name;
Through our love for neighbour
His love we proclaim.”
So, as we come away from this harvest time, what are the fruits of your own Harvest that you have to share? What are the skills and talents God has planted in your life that have been grown? And are you going to use them to work in partnership with God?
God Bless! Love,
Katie
Musical Notes!
Autumn is with us again – what happened to summer? The trees are beginning to lose their leaves and what a mess that can be! Sitting here in what I refer to as my office, I see that the trees on the village green are doing what they do every year and I shall soon be looking at bare branches. Mind you, that does have its advantages. When the trees are in full leaf (and one of them is a magnificent copper beech) that is what I see. I can no longer see the woods of Little Matlock on the Stannington side of Loxley valley, so you might say that I can’t see the woods for the trees. I get my view back in autumn.
October brings us to our Chapel Anniversary. There has been a Methodist presence on this site since 1819 i.e. nearly 200 years. The old Wadsley Wesleyan chapel stood here, isolated to some extent from the village, giving its witness to all who passed by. Fortunes fluctuated but in the 1880’s there came a revival and in 1890 (I don’t know how they managed it) there was a major refurbishment. The old balcony was removed, the ground floor lowered and the building became two-storey. This is, to some extent, the Chapel I came to know and love from the 1930’s. The congregation grew slowly as Wadsley village developed, the Wisewood and Sutton estates were built and we even acquired a bus route along Ben Lane. On the Sunday School Anniversary sheet of 1931 it was recorded that there were 194 scholars and 25 teachers. As the years went by the Church membership was increased by the addition of fellow Methodists from local churches which sadly had closed- Hawksley Avenue (1950’s), Langsett Road (1950’s) and Owlerton (1960’s).
Then in 1966 the members of Hillsborough Wesley in Bradfield Road, with great foresight and bravery, decided that their future lay elsewhere and they approached Wadsley Methodist and proposed a merger of the two societies. This was readily agreed and on 1st January 1968 Wisewood Methodist was born. The premises at Bradfield Road were sold, the old chapel at Wadsley was demolished and this new church was built and opened on 31st October 1970. So this year we celebrate 45 years of work and witness here at Wisewood. In more recent times we were joined by our friends from St Mark’s and later from Loxley URC. But, as always on these occasions, we remember those who went before us or accompanied us on our spiritual journey. Their names and our memories of them live on as we look forward to further anniversaries.
As Tiny Tim said, God bless us everyone.
John G.
SHOEBOXES - Operation Christmas Child
Now that Autumn is here many people’s thoughts turn towards Christmas. To begin the Advent season there is Shoebox Sunday. This year the service will be held on Sunday 29th November and will be conducted by our own minister Rev. Katie Leonowicz.
There is a display in the reception area of items suitable for shoeboxes and leaflets giving more details. Patterns for suitable items, both knitted and sewn, will also be available. Please help yourself if you can use any of the patterns.
The Knit and Chat group are working hard to produce sets of hats, scarves and gloves which will be on sale each Sunday in November after the morning service. The proceeds of these sales will be sent as a donation to cover the cost of transport.
If you are unable to fill a shoebox, items that can be used as “fillers” are always very acceptable. These items include hats, scarves, gloves, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, pens, pencils, writing books, colouring books (with no words), coloured pencils, felt pens, sweets and small toys (not hand made).
If you are in need of an empty shoebox please contact me and I may be able to supply one. Filled boxes can be left in the outer office at any time.
I pray that you will be able to help this worthwhile cause in some way, however small.
Enid
Readings In The New Testament
We continue to read in Matthew Chapter 20.
The first 16 verses are very familiar to us, the controversy appears to be around the pay given to a series of workers who have worked for different times during the day, with those who served the longest expecting to receive the most.
As we know, this is not so and all, whether working all day or just a short part of it, everyone receives the same pay.
As a committed Trades Unionist, you may feel that I would join in the protest. But this is not about physical work in a workplace. The story follows on from the previous Chapter where, in the last verse, Jesus says ‘Many who are first will be last; and many who are last will be first.’
We have also seen in other readings how the disciples argued which of them was the best or who would be sitting at the right hand of Jesus. In other words a typical case of fighting others to be at the top of the heap. A sad description of the world in which we live and the competition between people.
Jesus is speaking about the kingdom of God, not an earthly vineyard or any other area of work.
In the Christian society there will be people with a variety of experience. Some will have lived their whole lives in its environment and made commitments many years ago, some will be new to the teachings of Jesus and have only just made decisions to accept Him, or even still being on the brink of such a decision.
Jesus is saying that the promise of God is the same to the lifetime member as it is to the most recent. This is all that God promises, all can be saved and that is it. When you are saved you are as saved as is anyone else. There are no long service medals, we will all be treated as the Children of God.
Like the men in the vineyard, there are some in the church who find this hard to understand. “I have been coming here all my life and my parents and grandparents before me. Surely I outrank these who only arrived this morning?”
The answer is, no you do not. The problem is partly created because the Church is also a social group. We, whether long standing or recent members of that group must remember that first and foremost we are members of God’s Church. We have a duty to receive into our love and fellowship all who seek to follow Jesus and to make them realise and to feel that they are welcomed, valued and loved as full members of our society. None should feel isolated or cast aside.
17-19 is another reminder by Jesus of what is to happen to Him.
29-34 fits in well after the story of the vineyard. Here we have a pushy mother trying to win a favour for her sons. The sons are there with her and Jesus challenges them (22) and tells them that this decision is not his.
The other disciples are annoyed about this and show their anger. Jesus takes them again through the argument he so often uses, they are here to serve, not to be served. Here is a message for us, our lot is to serve those we are called to serve. God does not call us to be bosses and rulers of others and to lord it over them.
29-34 tells of one of Jesus’ miracles. In Mark and Luke there is only one blind man involved and in Mark he is named as Bartimeus. It is obviously the same story and does not lose anything by being told slightly differently in the three gospels. As I have said before, if any one of us is asked to describe an event, it is highly likely that the account will not be identical to someone else’s.
We now enter the final events of Jesus’ life before the resurrection. This is a period in which Jesus seems to have surrendered control of events to God and is passive in this period of time. This is why the period is called ‘Passiontide’. Passion is being used as a contrast to ‘action’.
This is a time when Jesus will say, ‘Not as I will, but as Thou wilt’.
David B.
The Names of the Bradfield Reservoirs
As a child I always found the names of the four reservoirs in the Bradfield area intriguing. Why should a reservoir, with a dam wall, be called Damflask? No other reservoirs were given a name with the word “dam” in them yet many had dam walls. Years later I discovered that the word had nothing to do with the wall that held the reservoir but has taken its name from a small hamlet which was drowned, when water started to accumulate, resulting in the hamlet not to be seen again. The reason the village was called Damflask is a bit of a mystery. The word “flask” would indicate a wet or marshy area, as would be found in the bottom of the valley. There was, in the village. a small paper mill.
Agden simply means a valley with oak trees, in exactly the same way that Ewden means a valley with yew trees. The syllable “den” is commonly found in west Yorkshire but is usually spelt “dene” meaning a valley. Agden almost had a claim to notoriety in the early 1950s when a weakness in the dam wall was discovered and the reservoir was partly emptied until repairs were made.
However, the problems of Agden were nothing compared with the Dale Dyke reservoir disaster in March 1864, when the newly constructed dam wall was breached. About 250 people in the Loxley and Don valleys were killed, bodies being discovered in the flooded river as far away as Doncaster. The numbers of the dead varies in different sources, but fairly recent research suggests that the death toll may have been at least double this figure. This early figure only included those killed directly by the flood but many others died in subsequent years with illnesses and injuries caused by the flood. The Dale Dyke disaster is reckoned to be the largest non-wartime disaster in England’s history. In the last forty years or so there has been a lot of publicity about this episode. Prior to then it was almost unheard of, apart from in north Sheffield. It is not certain where the name Dale Dyke originates but a “dyke” was another name for a stream and the reservoir is certainly in a dale. Names of places are not immune to change over time. For example, the head of the Dale Dyke valley, near to the top of Moscar, used to be known as Hawkesworth Head but no one seems to recognise this name now.
The smallest reservoir is Strines. It was also the last to be built, completed in 1871. Strines means a stream or a wet area.
Ray
Potting Shed
Autumn is a tidying up time in the garden. Debris can harbour pests and diseases, so clearing up not only makes things look better but keeps plants healthy too.
Dig up annuals - plants that last only a season - and put them on the compost heap. Flowering perennials - plants that spring up year after year from their roots - should be cut back. Remove yellowing or dead leaves or flowers before rot develops and remove any weeds hidden under the plant foliage. Now is also a really good time to turn your compost heap. It will heat up nicely and then gently rot over winter.
If your garden looks a bit drab in autumn, consider adding colour at this time of year. Visit the garden centre and see which plants are at their best in autumn. Deciduous trees, such as acers and ornamental crab apples will provide lovely autumn colours from foliage, bark and berries. Autumn flowers such as cyclamens come in white and a range of pink shades with glossy green leaves and add a welcome dash of colour.
Now is a good time to plant spring bulbs, such as daffodils, tulips, and new perennials. There is still time for plants to establish themselves before the real cold sets in. It is also a good time to plant or move shrubs and trees to allow them to anchor down before the growing season. Reflect on what was and was not successful in this year’s planting scheme so that you can adapt your plans for next year.
For a lovely lawn next spring, start to mow less frequently and raise the height of the blades. Rake out dead grass and moss that has built up over the summer and follow this with an autumn lawn feed.
Give nature a hand and encourage birds into the garden by providing extra food. Place the feeder near a tall shrub, fence or mature tree to provide protection from predators. To provide more food for the birds, put in shrubs which produce berries such as cotoneaster, pyracantha, rowan and holly.
Summer seems to pass so quickly, but there will still be some lovely autumn days to enjoy and you have lots of jobs to keep you busy in the garden!
Helen O.
Barcelona
Simon and a group of friends from the “Hub” went on a trip to Spain and this is his report:
On Tuesday 22nd September, 2015 we left John Lennon Airport for our Ryanair flight to Barcelona. Our hotel had plenty of facilities including “The Blue Lagoon” swimming pool which we used frequently and in the evening a disco was held which we all enjoyed. We also went to the local beach but on some days it rained so we stayed in the hotel where there were games for us to play. During our stay we visited Santa Suzanna where we had refreshments in a hotel and then looked round the local shops and market. After 12 days our holiday came to an end and we arrived back in England to cold and foggy weather. We all enjoyed our holiday and look forward to the next!
Simon