Rev Paul Carr Licensed on 11th June

Paul was licensed as Team Rector at Emmanuel Church, Billericay on Wednesday 11th June.
We welcome him to the parish and ask that God bless his ministry here in Billericay
 

Moira Pidgeon - London Marathon 2008

I completed the London Marathon in 4 hours 44 minutes and have raised over £1600 so far (for the Multiple Sclerosis Society)
It is not too late for people to sponsor me, if they wish, at: www.justgiving.com/moirapidgeon. Thank you so very much to everyone who supported me!

Moira

See Moira completing the marathon on the attached video. She is on the right hand side of the screen (top and bottom), wearing her orange “MS” shirt, hands raised!
 

Sunrise Service - Easter Day 2008

Before Billericay was covered in a blanket of snow, a group of tired and weary young people and others walked to a field to welcome the Easter morning.

We stayed over night watching films and having a midnight reflection and after a few hours sleep, and for some no hours sleep we got up to see the sunrise. We were a little late to see the sun come up but the the effect was just the same. The sun coming up over the trees and flooding the field we were in was really powerful. We all took time to take in the scene before us.

A brand new day had begun, Jesus was back in the land of the living, he still has work to do. We shared bread and fruit juice, we ate, drank and remembered. As Jesus’ band of followers had done time and time again we shared a moment with each other of peace, expectation and new beginnings. And we remembered. 

It’s so easy to forget, like child hood memories that have faded over time, where only a whisper of what once was, lingers. But the memory of Jesus sacrifice was strong, it was in our meeting, eating and drinking, in the frosty earth under our feet, the morning sun, the early bird call and rabbits bounding around in all of creation. In that moment we were made new and ready to welcome the day!

Then came the snow, a blanket of white. It was a great reminder of Jesus covering our sin, making us new again!

Friday 21st March 2008
Christ Church, Perry Street

Were you one of the 500+ people who packed into Christ Church for our three Christingle Services last December? The story of Jesus’ birth is great but it’s only the beginning. Have you ever asked or wondered “What Happened Next” to Jesus…?

A new service took place at Christ Church this year as our first Eastingle service was celebrated on Good Friday afternoon.

The service was arranged to provide an opportunity for the families who had attended our Christingle services to come back and explore the events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday and the relevance they have for our lives today.

Through a mixture of songs, the historical story of Jesus, personal stories and the assembling of our own Eastingles the message of the Easter was told. Refreshments and craft activities for the children were provided in the hall afterwards
 

Flag and Banner Worship Training Day
March 2008

Palm Sunday was marked at Christ Church this year with a special All Age service including uniformed groups of Scouts, Guides, Cubs and Brownies and participants from the Flag and Banner Worship Training day/workshop which was held the previous day.

Flags are integral to the Parade services and our Palm Sunday service integrated Banners and dance prepared at the training day into the worship.

Avril Betts-Brown led the Training day with us on Saturday and demonstrated how she had made the beautiful shimmering banners she brought with her and she also shared with us the Biblical base for using banners and flags in worship.

Flags and banners have been used throughout history to unite people, to give them a sense of identity, direction and to declare victory.

Many of us will recall the images of man’s conquest of Everest or the Apollo moon landings where the placing of the flag marked the moment of achievement

And so it was with the tribes of Israel who each had their own standard as they camped round the tabernacle in the desert and they followed the standard through the wilderness.

By waving flags and banners we can demonstrate that God is honoured and we are lifting Him up, we can proclaim our allegiance to our faith and enhance our praise and worship.

For me personally the workshop was a wonderful opportunity to explore a new form of worship which the open space of Christ Church, cleared of all chairs, made possible. I have always appreciated the richness that dance can bring to our worship and to be able to take part myself was a true blessing.

Jane Vaughan
 

Saturday 26th January 2008

Michael Cohen, former Rector of Jerusalem and worker with CMJ, spent his Saturday teaching us about our heritage. Over 90 people attended this all-day teaching event at Christ Church. Every single one of them got great value for whatever donation they made to the retiring collection.

One of Michaels favourite stories is about visiting schools and asking the children how many times they think Jesus went to church. I'd love to hear some of the answers. The point is, of course, that Jesus NEVER went to church. I'd like to see the faces when they were told that also! Jesus was a Jew, born in Bethlehem during the Roman occupation of the area some 2000 years ago. How much do you know about the world of those days. Well for my part, I knew a little about the Romans, but almost nothing about the Jews.

How can I possibly understand the stories about Jesus in the Bible properly unless I have some idea of the culture of the Jews, and their expectations. Michael has such a different perspective, but about the same fundamental events and beliefs. I had heard Michael before, so knew what to look forward to – and I was not disappointed. His teachings add another dimension to understanding Jesus, and therefore help us in our quest to become closer to Him.

That's where this day provided so much input. In the section on History we learnt, among many other things, that the country we now call Israel has only had this title for a small percentage of the time since Joshua claimed the land God had promised to the descendants of Abraham. Even in King David's time land occupied was not as large as the area promised by God.

We looked at some of the complexities of the families that descended from Abraham, and how the various people of the area came to be what they are today. The history of the events of last century, and even further back have shaped the political landscape in particular ways, and given groups of people different views about their rights and expectations.

Jesus did not come to found a church, but to reform Judaism. We saw that God is still working through the Jews and land of Israel. We looked at the future and found that our destiny is bound up with what happens in that land and to that people.

The teaching of the Rabbi's on the Messiah is fascinating, and quite a difficult subject to get in to. Some of it is quite unbelievable, but there is much that is interesting. We looked at the prophesies in scripture and saw how Jesus fulfils the majority of them. Those that aren't fulfilled relate to the Messiah's return.

The day was intense, and the breaks between sessions highly valued – a time to evaluate some of the things that had been heard. I have many pages of notes, which represent only a small fraction of the notes I could have taken (and should have taken).
Christ Church has the powerpoint slides that Michael used, and the sessions have all been recorded. We will make both available on the web if space allows (Sermons page) and are planning to produce a CD from the day. A number of people have already asked for one
 

The Bill Legend Band - Saturday 1st December

The former T-Rex drummer Bill Legend and his band were at Christ Church performing some T-Rex numbers, some blues, and some gospel songs. Bill also explained why he is a Christian. A great event

Alternative Christmas Fair - Saturday 10th November

Christ Church was the venue for an Alternative Christmas Fair on Saturday November 10^th. Locally produced crafts were on sale including olive wood carvings, hand made cards and toiletries, books, jewellery. There was also the opportunity to make your own Christmas cards or have a specially commissioned cartoon drawn for you. Fair trade refreshments were served though out the day and delicious home made soup was on offer at lunch time. Thank you goes to everyone who supported this event in aid of the Building Project at All Saints Church, Kathanjuri, Kenya and St Luke's Hospice Basildon