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Letters for 2006
Letters for 2008

Looking Forward . . .

 Well, we have certainly had some wild and wintry weather in the last couple of weeks and are now beginning to look forward to Spring and lighter nights. Certainly the snowdrops are a welcome sight and many other plants are ready with new shoots - the promise for the future. We spend much of our lives looking back - reminiscing about events and also looking forward to the future. At Christ Church we are looking forward to doing some new things in the church and community and our Away Day helped us to focus on some ideas.

Our first event this year is our Pancake Party for all the family on Shrove Tuesday 20th February in the Church Hall - do come along and have some fun. On Shrove Tuesday people traditionally ate pancakes to use up any rich food before Lent, but perhaps you didn't know that the word shrove comes from Shriven - which means forgiveness. Ash Wednesday, the day afterwards gives Christians an opportunity to be anointed with ash (made from last year's Palm Crosses) as a sign of penitence. More is often known about Lent, the seven weeks leading up to Easter when we remember Christ's death and resurrection. It is meant to be a time of spiritual reflection and renewal but in the past has been characterised by giving up things - especially chocolate.

Well this year we are doing something different - we are joining with the Diocese in "Love life, Live Lent" a programme of 50 actions which encourages generosity and kindness to ourselves, our neighbours and the community. Some are to be done individually and others with friends. We hope you might want to join in with us. We shall also be doing two Lent Courses based on the same theme.

Generosity is a key ingredient for making our church and neighbourhoods full of love and compassion. In this we will be following Jesus' example who always had time for other people and poured out his healing love upon them. Let us together take up this challenge.

Joan Whysall

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New LIfe

Spring has arrived! It was wonderful to see the first signs of life after the winter weather and the lifeless trees all around. First the tiny snowdrops appeared, lifting our spirits, followed by masses of crocuses that have looked so splendid. Now the graceful daffodils nod their heads from every garden bed and green spikes on the trees promise a multitude of greens all around us in the coming weeks. Spring is here! Life from a seemingly dead landscape. Colour emerging from dullness, everywhere being painted over with God’s artistic paintbrush. Everything fresh and new. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could do the same with ourselves and our lives - to replace all that is dull and lifeless with new life erupting from inside. Well at Easter God gave us a chance to do just that. . . .

Life from death - that's what happened at Easter. On Good Friday everything seemed doom, gloom, betrayal and defeat. The disciples were in despair - they had followed Jesus for 3 years - for what? - for this? They were afraid that they would be the next to die - so they denied even knowing Him. Then on Easter Day the glorious news, told by the women, that He was not dead - but ALIVE - could this be true? Still they stayed behind locked doors for fear of the authorities but then Jesus appeared to them, not once, but many times and they knew the joy and victory of His resurrection. Life out of death! For the first time they began to understand what His life and death meant.

He died that our sins might be forgiven and rose in newness of life to conquer death and sit at the right hand of God, His Father. He died as a substitute for us that through him we might come close to God. When we accept Jesus as our Saviour and ask forgiveness of all the things that we have done wrong then we are washed clean and the barrier of sin, which has parted us from God, is broken. A new life is beginning.

The disciples understood: these men, who had been so afraid - locked in a room - now were out on the streets preaching with boldness! Their fear had gone. They were bursting with new life and power.

So it is possible! Just as we see new life emerging each Spring in all its colour and splendour so our lives can be transformed - like the disciples. We too can receive NEW LIFE IN ALL ITS FULLNESS and blossom, like the flowers, into something beautiful - painted by God's own hand.

So as we approach Easter when the shops are filled with scrumptious Easter eggs, fluffy chicks and Easter bunnies: all signs of new life - let us not forget the symbol and the message of the cross with its hope of new life for each one of us.

May you experience Newness of life this Easter

Joan Whysall

Well it's a year since Don and I first moved to Christ Church and it's simply flown by. Friends helped us to celebrate by making us a special cake see below.

A year a go I was writing about 'being thrown in at the deep end' as I was plunged straight into the Church's 150th Birthday Celebrations. It proved a very busy and successful year and gave me the opportunity to find out much about the Church and meet lots of new people. Thank you everyone for your warm welcome.

It's certainly been very different living on the busy Nuthall Road compared with the village life we have been used to. As you may know the parish has a population of 13,000 and encompasses half of Aspley Estate, Bells Lane Estate, Stockhill, all the streets off Bagnall Road and stretches from the Gateway Hotel, Basford Crossing as far as the new Sainsbury's - Quite a lot to get to know.

As\well as Church Life and Pastoral Care during the Year I have been gradually getting involved in some of the Community Groups and taking part in their activities as well as attending the LAG (Local Action Group) where we meet with the police to look at local trouble spots and I have been impressed by the willingness of people to get involved and the subsequent fall in the crime rate for the area. Another aspect of my work has been visiting the two primary Schools and hosting classes at Church. If you are a local group and would like any help or a visit - please let me know.

I do hope you will be able to join with us at some our events advertised on this website

In his life we see Jesus reaching out to the people he met and we should follow his example. I believe that Christ Church should be a church for the Community as well as it's members and I have tried to fulfill this in this my first year,

Love and God Bless

Joan

Thanks . . .

As you may know, I have been suffering from eye problems over the last few months which have resulted in numerous hospital visits and finally an operation. At the moment I am still off work recovering and I have been very grateful for the cards, flowers, chocolate and numerous hot dinners from many people and also for the visits that have helped to encourage me at this difficult time.

I expect to be back at work soon and am looking forward to our exciting Autumn Programme beginning with our Harvest Celebration on the 9th September

Thanks to everyone and God Bless

Joan

Are you infectious?

Over the last few weeks we have heard much about the Foot and Mouth and Blue Tongue viruses. The experts have spent time and effort trying to stop the virus spreading and prevent the disastrous effects for our farming community. The problem is, viruses travel unseen as we ourselves have seen in a flu epidemic and a few years ago during the SARS crisis when we saw large numbers of people in Hong Kong and China wearing masks to protect themselves. Did you think they were over-reacting or just protecting themselves and their families? Would you wear one and are masks effective anyway?

The fact that viruses spread unseen in the air around us reminded me of other things that spread and evolve: Attitudes, Ideas and Habits all spread rapidly through the population and also through the instant access of television and internet.

• Fashions: new trends spread fast - for the young particularly it’s important to wear the ‘in’ thing and become a clone of everyone else! Even adults are not immune.

• Words: especially slang expressions soon come into common usage. The upsurge in texting is also creating a new language that could change our spelling of English forever. Some of you might say for the better!

• Adverts: do you try out the things you see on the TV?
• Toys: have you yet succumbed to your child’s wish - “everyone else has got one”.

I wonder whether we are people who conform to the ever changing environment around us or do we try to ward off this creeping influence. The truth is that every day, we too, influence people with our own ideas, attitudes and opinions - good or bad.

Have you ever thought about how you influence people by being a Christian. Here's a question for you. If you had a choice of £10,000 a day for 20 days OR £1 on the first day doubled for the next twenty days which would you take? It needs a bit of puzzling out but the fact is that the second option is much better. The first choice amounts to £200,000 while the second reaches a staggering £524,288 in just twenty days. If we relate this to telling others about Jesus, i.e. if everyone who has heard the Good News tells someone every day - in twenty days 524,288 will be reached and in 21days over one million etc. It sounds simple in those terms, but the fact while many people receive Jesus with joy others don’t want to hear the news perhaps they put on their ‘mask’ to prevent infection or at least have many mental barriers to prevent them ‘catching’ it. What about you - are you open to hear or are you wearing a mask?

In the early Church the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection spread rapidly through the surrounding countries partly by missionaries like Paul but also by many Jews who fled to escape persecution. They were keen to tell others of the power of the risen Lord in their lives. Word spread from person to person without the help of the media we have these days. Before Jesus ascended into heaven he commissioned the disciples to share the news in Jerusalem, in the surrounding area and to the end s of the earth. (Acts 1:8) It’s a mission that he still gives us today.

So how infectious are you in sharing your faith and being a good Christian influence in today's world? Remember influence, like a virus, can't be seen but its effect can be contagious.

So let's spread a bit of hope and happiness every day.

Joan

Christmas is Coming . . .  

As I write this we are all busily preparing for our Christmas Tree Festival. There is a sense of excitement but also of apprehension - will it be a great success?

You might well be saying why have a Christmas Tree Festival and what are trees to do with the real meaning of Christmas? Well tradition has it that in the 8th Century St Boniface went to Germany as a missionary, where he found people sacrificing a child to their god under an oak tree. He rescued the child and chopped down the tree. Finding a tiny fir tree that was growing beside the trunk of the oak tree, he gave it to the people saying, 'This is a symbol of life. Whenever you look at this tree, remember the Christ-child who is the one who will give you life, because he gave his life for you.'

Our Christmas Tree Festival is to celebrate Christmas together as Community showing the variety and richness of groups, organisations and businesses in the area - including local schools, Police, Fire station Community Centres to name just a few. There will be 25 trees decorated each with its own theme - it should be a great sight! There will also be a tree of Memories where you can add your own decoration in memory of a loved one. (bring one with you if you like). Another tree will be a Prayer tree for own special Christmas Prayer.

We will also be having stalls, refreshments and entertainment (see page 7) It will run for three days Friday, Saturday and Sunday 7th, 8th & 9th December 11am - 6pm so I hope you will come along and bring all your family and friends - but especially the children.

We all celebrate Christmas in lots of different ways but it's good to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas, the coming of the Lord Jesus into the world, to have fun together but also to remember those not as fortunate as ourselves. One of the problems in today’s world is that we are apt to knock out the spiritual and allow Christmas to become just a great big party. It saddens me that over zealous 'political correctness' some organisations have chosen not to celebrate Christmas but have a winter festival instead - just in case they might upset someone. That is really throwing away the true meaning of Christmas. In my experience people of other faiths in this country are not offended by Christmas - they like to celebrate their own festivals like Divali etc and think it is strange that we might want to water down ours!!

Whatever our beliefs might be, this country is founded on Christian beliefs and morals, it is our heritage. Many of the great social changes and reforms were brought about by men and women of faith whose Christian convictions drove the m to fight for the rights of the individual. I agree that there is still room for improvement, but on the whole we live with freedom., justice and peace. We owe a great debt to them. For the sake of political correctness, if we turn Christmas into just an excuse for a big “knees up” we are literally “throwing out the baby with the bath water”!

So let’s Celebrate:
        Light up the streets and houses
                Prepare for the party
                        Give to those in need . . .
                                REMEMEBER JESUS

born to bring light and salvation to the world
to you and to me

What a great reason to celebrate!
May God bless you and your family as you celebrate his birth.

Joan