As another year draws to a close we have been reflecting in the planning meetings on where God has led us since September. Of course it has been great to have welcomed Andrew, Naomi, Matthew and Sophie to Frodsham Methodist Church, and to have the benefit of Andrew’s knowledge and enthusiasm both in the planning and delivery of 0930live!- as well as having the whole family participate in the services.

We have been guided to look at how God is in the ordinariness of our lives. For example, in our ‘messy’ family circumstances, and we looked at various Biblical families to see how God still worked through them despite some pretty desperate situations (think Joseph and his brothers…).

After Easter we considered how Jesus appeared in ’ordinary’ settings to normal people following his resurrection. Further evidence that God works through the ordinariness of life.

As we prepare to break for the holidays, we shall be asking God to go with us and to be with us, wherever we go and whatever we are doing this summer.

Jonny Ellams is going on a particularly exciting trip soon – to Haiti as part of the Methodist Church OneEncounter programme, and we shall be able to pray for him at 0930live! before he goes.

Sadly we were not able to go on our annual away weekend this year, so instead we have planned a social afternoon, Saturday 22nd July. Around 40 people will be meeting at Church to walk through the woods to Foxhill Centre where we’ll have drink and cake. Then after a short service of thanks we’ll walk back to Church for a BBQ tea and team games. A good way to end a good year!

May God go with you and be with you this summer
​
The 0930live! Team

​Summer is here again and I hope you find time to relax and enjoy the warmer weather. It’s a time when many
of us catch up with friends, share events, news and plan events for the rest of the year.

Toddlers will be open 9am-11.45am on the following Thursdays during August:
Thursday 3rd August – Open
Thursday 24th August – Open
Thursday 31st August – Open

. .. and then we are open every week from the end of August

On Saturday, 23rd September, as part of our Harvest celebrations we are gathering together to celebrate our
talents.

Can you sing, play an instrument, read a poem, make people laugh, dance? Anyone and everyone is invited to share their talent in an evening of entertainment and refreshments. So, don’t be shy, fill in the forms available on the notice board or ring Andrea on 01928 732612.

... and don’t forget to look in the weekly Notice Sheet for the date that Messy Mice is starting again in September.
​
Andrea Ellams
Young Families Worker

On Saturday 15th July thirteen people left our church in a Methodist convoy and drove to Appleton Thorn Village Hall. After avoiding being detained in the Young Offenders Institute the group set off down the traffic-free Lumbrooke Valley Trail. A theological quiz, asking people to identify a piece of scripture which was part of a dedication to a local person, and whose inscription read, “and the dust returns to the ground it came from and the spirit returns to God who gave it”, was our next task. Only with the help of Jim “google” Caldwell was the answer to be found – Ecclesiastes Chapter 12 verse 7. Extra bible study has now been prescribed to the walking group!

The walk continued through the jungle of South Warrington known as The Dingle, and into a pine forest that afforded a lovely view of Warrington in the distance. Shortly afterwards the group arrived at the highly secret point of interest known as The Grappenhall Heyes Walled Gardens - with ponds and a lovely café which we are sure will be explored in the future visits by many in the group.

Upon leaving this Parr family estate the route led across local fields back onto the Lumbrooke Valley Trail which took us back to the car park. On the return to church Sue’s homemade cakes refreshed our weary walkers who had been out for nearly 3 hours.

Sue & Kevin Fairbanks
​
PS Why not join us for a bit of exercise and explore somewhere new on one of our monthly Church Walks? We normally leave from the church car park at 1.30pm and walk somewhere in the local area. Afterwards we head back to Church for tea/coffee and cake. Our next walks will be on Saturday 12th August (led by Ros and Jim Caldwell) and Saturday 16th September (led by Kathleen Povall).

​Dear Friends,

I have two school aged children and seem to be surrounded in my life by teachers for whom the weeks of summer centred on August have a different rhythm. Those with connections to the school year also change gear at this time. The roads will be quieter at commute times and busier on holiday “changeover days”. For some it will be a time to take holiday. For others, it will be a time not to take holiday in order to avoid premium prices. For others, these weeks will not be any different.

The bible seems to acknowledge the need for human beings to mark the passage of time with rhythms. The poem of Genesis 1 describes a rhythm of “it was evening and morning….” and a weekly Sabbath is instituted. There are annual festivals and the writer of Ecclesiastes notes that there is a “time to plant and a time to uproot” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Jesus himself observed rhythms of engagement and withdrawal, of action and of prayers and took time out to recharge and to gain perspective. Worship and prayer was central to Jesus’ life. Where does worship, corporate or individual fit in our lives?

For many of us, our time of worship of God is at the centre of our pattern of life. We have found that prioritising worship helps us make sense of all the other demands on our time. At Frodsham Methodist Church we offer a wide range of opportunities to worship. I know that for some of you it is impossible for you to share in any of these. As a father of two I know the pressure that families are under. Families are often separated by great distances and grandparents often have significant child care responsibilities. We don’t expect people to fit into our pattern and we’re not about making people feel guilty about not being able to come to share in worship. One of the hazards of wearing a dog collar is that people feel that they must explain why they have not been at church. I do not keep records! If however there is something that we can do to help you, either to provide a time of worship together or to resource your devotional life at home, please have a word with me or indeed with your Pastoral Friend or the person who delivers your magazine. We’re about supporting people in their lives, not in adding further demands.

Whatever we’re doing this summer, perhaps we could take time to reflect on our lives and those around us and know that God is with us in all of the rhythms of life, seeking to give us that fresh, wider perspective. Perhaps we could all take time to ask, what is central to our rhythm of life and what is peripheral?

Grace and peace.
​
Andrew